ANAPA – The connection of the shallow-water and deep-water sections of the TurkStream gas pipeline began on Friday in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is watching the process from the Pioneering Spirit pipe-laying vessel.
On Friday, Putin arrived at the Pioneering Spirit, which is presently laying the gas pipeline six and a half kilometers off the coast of the city of Anapa.
After familiarizing himself with the ship, Putin descended from the captain’s bridge to the main welding unit where the TurkStream pipeline’s shallow-water and deep-water parts were connected in his presence.
The connection effectively means the completion of efforts to build the project’s shallow-water sector and the start of work at the depth of the Black Sea.
The Pioneering Spirit is one of the world’s largest construction vessels and it will build the deep-water part of the TurkStream. The vessel is 477 meters long, which is equivalent to the length of more than four football fields, and is 124 meters wide. The length of the vessel’s stinger, which lowers pipe to the seabed, is 170 meters.
Putin was told on board the ship that pipes that would be located near the coastline would have an additional protective concrete cover. They are welded to the main line of the pipeline on board a specialized vessel, and each welded joint is automatically checked by an ultra-sound system, and then a polypropylene corrosion resistance substance is applied to all welded joints. The pipe-laying vessel gradually moves forward, laying new sections of pipes on the seabed.
Specialists said that the pipe welding process on board the vessel is fully automated. It has a total of six welding stations, and it takes them approximately ten minutes to weld one joint. One-of-a-kind devices, pipe tensioners, hold a two-kilometer-long pipe, which should be steadily placed down on the seabed.
Russian gas giant Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller briefed the president on the parameters of the pipeline’s parts.
“All efforts to build and operate the gas pipeline will proceed in strict compliance with the most up-to-date international environmental norms and rules,” Miller told Putin.
“TurkStream is relevant to the market,” he said.
“Speaking about the Turkish market, we see that demand for Russian gas is growing, and our deliveries already account for 53% of Turkey’s domestic market. The shipments have already grown by 2.630 billion since the beginning of 2017, as compared with the same period in 2016,” Miller said.
Another market for Russian gas are the countries of Southern and South Eastern Europe, he said.
“We also see a very high rate of growth in demand for Russian gas in Europe. Gas shipments to Europe increased by 10.5 billion cubic meters from the beginning of 2017 to mid-June, as compared with the same period the year before. The pace of growth is really impressive in countries of this region,” Miller said.
“Demand has grown by almost 26% in Turkey, by 12% in Greece, by 14% in Bulgaria, by 31% in Hungary, by 47% in Serbia, and by 77.5% in Austria,” he said.
Gas deliveries via the pipeline “will ensure reliable supplies to our consumers,” he said.
“Vladimir Vladimirovich, all of the systems are ready to start working. I ask you to give a start,” Miller said.
The Russian president then pressed the button, thus giving a start to the connection of the pipeline’s shallow-water and deep-water segments.
The construction of TurkStream will ensure stable direct gas supply not only to Turkey, but also to consumers in South and Southeastern Europe. The annual amount of transportation via the TurkStream project’s two lines, one intended for Turkey and the other for Europe, is projected at 31.5 billion cubic meters of gas (15.75 billion cubic meters per line).
