Gazprom says both legs of TurkStream pipeline filled with gas

Russian energy giant Gazprom said Tuesday that it has filled both sections of the TurkStream pipeline with gas and supplies would begin by the end of the year.

“Activities before the commissioning of the TurkStream gas pipeline, which, according to the schedule, should take place before the end of 2019, are at the final stage,” Gazprom said in a statement.

“At present, both legs are filed with gas, from coastal facilities near Anapa to the receiving terminal located near the village of Kıyıköy on the Turkish coast,” it added.

TurkStream begins on the Russian coast near the town of Anapa and runs over 930 kilometers through the Black Sea to come ashore on the Turkish coast in the Thrace region, near the town of Kıyıköy.

The energy giant also confirmed that the construction of the Russkaya Compressor Station, which will provide the necessary pressure for the gas to traverse through the Black Sea, is already complete. The station is a key piece of infrastructure in Gazprom’s giant gas pipeline and compressor station network.

TurkStream will have the capacity to transport 31.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year, which is equal to the energy demand of some 15 million homes.

The project consists of two lines across the Black Sea, the first of which will serve Turkey with a capacity of 15.75 bcm, while the second line is planned to run further to Europe through Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary. Each pipeline is 930 kilometers in length, laid at depths reaching 2,200 meters.

Of the two onshore lines, one is being built by Turkey’s state-owned oil and gas trading company, Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) to connect to the Turkish grid. A BOTAŞ-Gazprom joint venture is building the second line toward Europe.

The project is the largest-diameter offshore gas pipeline in the world laid at such depths. The world’s biggest construction vessel, the Pioneering Spirit, carried out the deep-sea pipe laying.