11 things you should know about Gazprom’s TurkStream gas pipeline

Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom recently announced that construction had begun on its TurkStream gas pipeline megaproject.

It is another huge pipeline connecting Russian reserves to the European mainland, joining the enormous NordStream 2 which is connecting North Western Russia to North Eastern Germany.

Here is what you need to know about Gazprom’s latest pipeline project:

1. TurkStream is a 900+km pipeline starting on the Russian coast near the town of Anapa, passing through the Turkish coastal settlement Kiyikpy and finishing inland at Luleburgaz in the Thrace region.  
2. The pipeline will measure 32 inches in diameter (the first of this size) and will be laid at depths of more than two kilometres.
3. Each of the two offshore pipelines is made up of thousands of individual pipe joints of 12 meters in length.
4. The walls of the pipeline are made from 39 millimeters of high-quality carbon manganese steel and each joint to improve the mechanical characteristics of the pipe so that it can withstand the huge pressure. Pipes laid in shallow waters will be coated in 5-8cm of concrete for additional stability.
5. Pipelaying is being carried out by the Audacia vessel owned by Allseas, the construction contractor for both strings of the gas pipeline's offshore section.
6. Construction works for the TurkStream gas pipeline in the deep-water area will be performed by the Pioneering Spirit pipe-laying vessel, the largest in the world.
7. 31.5 billion cubic metres of gas will pass through the pipeline each year.
8. The west of Turkey and a number of European countries currently rely on an older system which runs via Ukraine.
9. The project is currently running on time and should be completed by late 2019.
10. On October 10, 2016, Russia and Turkey signed the Intergovernmental Agreement on the TurkStream project.
11. The TurkStream Offshore Pipeline is being implemented by South Stream Transport B.V., an Amsterdam-based subsidiary of Gazprom.

Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, commented: “We have started the practical implementation of the TurkStream gas pipeline project: pipe-laying within the offshore section. The project is right on schedule, and by late 2019 our Turkish and European consumers will have a new, reliable source of Russian gas imports.”