Work has begun on laying a deep-water section of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline in the Black Sea. The joining of the shallow and deep-water parts of the pipeline was personally observed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who flew on board the pipe-laying vessel Pioneering Spirit.
Work on laying the gas pipeline is currently underway at a distance of 6.5 km from the coast. The head of state arrived at the pipe-laying ship by helicopter. From the captain's bridge he went down to the main welding shop, where at that moment installation and welding work was being carried out to join parts of the Turkish Stream, RIA Novosti reports.
According to experts, pipes for laying in coastal areas will have an additional protective concrete coating. They are welded to the main line of the gas pipeline on board a specialized vessel. Each weld is automatically inspected by an ultrasonic system and then coated with a polypropylene coating to protect against corrosion. Gradually, the pipelayer moves forward, lowering new sections of pipe to the seabed. The welding process on the ship is fully automated. There are six welding stations in total; the welding speed for one seam is approximately ten minutes.
After inspecting the welding and pipe-laying work, the Russian President contacted Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan by telephone. He informed him about the start of the deep-sea stage of work and highly appreciated the level of trust and cooperation between the countries, thanks to which the project is moving very quickly.
“We are developing projects with Turkey in a way that they are not developing with many other partners. Where with others it takes us years to obtain various administrative approvals, with Turkey we do this within a few months, and this certainly happens as a result of your direct personal support," Putin told Erdogan.
He recalled that the agreement on the construction of the gas pipeline was signed last fall. And now, after just seven months, work is already underway, the Russian President noted, congratulating his Turkish colleague on this.
Construction of the offshore section of the Turkish Stream began on May 7 near the Russian Black Sea coast. The new gas pipeline will run along the seabed from the Anapa region of the Krasnodar Territory of Russia to the western part of Turkey. The Russian-Turkish agreement on the construction of the pipeline provides for the laying of two strings of the gas pipeline with a capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters per year each, with the possibility of expanding to four strings with a capacity of 63 billion cubic meters. It is assumed that gas supplies along the first line will be intended for Turkish consumers. The second line is designed for the European market.
In recent months, Russia has sharply intensified work on the construction of two new gas pipelines through which blue fuel will flow to Europe. We are talking about Turkish Stream and Nord Stream 2. It was recently reported that Gazprom's European partners are planning to expand the terminal, which will connect SP-2 with the German gas transportation system.
As for energy cooperation with the Old World, Moscow is not sure that a catch has been ruled out - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov said at the end of May that Moscow is waiting for guarantees from the European Union on the implementation of the Turkish Stream so that the sad experience of the South Stream is not repeated. .
“We cannot help but be concerned about the attempts of a number of EU institutions to torpedo energy projects in Europe with Russian participation, we are primarily talking about the Nord Stream 2 project. Ambiguities on the part of the European Commission regarding the second line of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, which will be aimed at consumers of Southern and South-Eastern Europe. To avoid repeating the sad experience of South Stream..., we expect reinforced concrete guarantees from Brussels for the implementation of this project,” Gazeta.Ru quotes the diplomat.
Moscow plans to commission the first line of the Turkish Stream in March 2018, the second in 2019. Around the same time, Gazprom intends to begin pumping gas through Nord Stream 2. These deadlines must be adhered to because the contract for gas transit through Ukraine expires in 2019 and Kyiv does not yet plan to renew it.
Currently, slightly less than half of Russian gas intended for the European market flows along the Ukrainian route - 82 billion out of 179 billion cubic meters. If this pipe closes, the gas will need to be released through a bypass route - this is why Turkish Stream and Nord Stream 2 are needed, which together are capable of replacing the required power.
The Turkish authorities may become an unexpected obstacle to the implementation of this plan. On the one hand, they are extremely interested in building a direct pipeline from Russia, which will also allow them to make money on transit to Europe. On the other hand, Ankara has shown itself to be an extremely unreliable partner in recent years. In addition, the country has its own gas ambitions and in the near future it intends to reduce its dependence on Russian hydrocarbons. We can only hope that until Recep Erdogan once again decides to obstruct the construction of the gas pipeline, the job will already be done.
- a transnational gas pipeline project, which is being developed in order to diversify routes for natural gas supplies to European consumers and involves pumping blue fuel through the Black Sea to the countries of Southern and Central Europe.
A memorandum of understanding on the implementation of the South Stream project between Gazprom and the Italian company Eni was signed on June 23, 2007. He determined the areas of cooperation between the two companies in the field of design, financing, construction and management of South Stream.
Since 2008, the economic and legal aspects of the transaction have been coordinated for several years, as a result of which the routes of the main pipelines were determined.
The route of the gas pipeline at the pre-investment stage of the project is considered in several options and includes onshore parts of the gas pipeline passing through the territories of a number of European countries, as well as offshore gas pipelines through the Black and Adriatic seas (if the option of gas supplies to the southern part of Italy is chosen). In addition, in order to provide South Stream with a sufficient amount of natural gas, it is planned to expand existing and build new gas transmission facilities on the territory of the Russian Federation.
The new gas pipeline system, designed to supply South Stream with natural gas, will run through Russia from the Pochinki compressor station to the Black Sea coast. Its length will reach approximately 2.5 thousand kilometers. It is planned to build 10 compressor stations.
The laying of gas pipelines will be carried out in eight regions of Russia: Voronezh, Volgograd, Rostov, Nizhny Novgorod, Penza and Saratov regions, Mordovia and Krasnodar Territory.
The offshore section of the South Stream gas pipeline will run along the bottom of the Black Sea from the Russkaya compressor station on the Russian coast to the coast of Bulgaria.
The total length of the Black Sea section will be about 900 kilometers, the maximum depth of the gas pipeline in the Black Sea is 2,250 meters.
There are several options for the South Stream route along the bottom of the Black Sea. At the moment, the route passing through the exclusive economic zones of Russia, Turkey and Bulgaria is being developed as the main one.
As of September 2011, shares in the offshore section of the South Stream project were distributed as follows: OJSC Gazprom - 50%, the Italian company Eni - 20%, the German company Wintershall Holding and the French energy company EDF - 15% each.
In the territories of the countries of Southern and Central Europe, two possible routes for laying a gas pipeline are being considered: the northwestern one - in the direction of Slovenia and Austria through Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary, and the southwestern one - to Greece and Italy. From the main route of the European land section of South Stream, branches will be made to Croatia and Macedonia.
It is assumed that the gas pipeline is 15.57 billion cubic meters each. The commissioning of the first of them is currently scheduled for December 2015; full capacity (63 billion cubic meters) is expected by 2018. The estimated cost of South Stream is 15.5 billion euros, 10 billion of which are for the offshore section and 5.5 billion for the onshore section.
In order to implement the European land part of the project, Russia has signed intergovernmental agreements with Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Greece, Slovenia, Austria and Croatia.
In 2011-2012, Montenegro and Republika Srpska expressed a desire to take part in the project. It was decided to develop feasibility studies for the construction of gas pipelines to these countries.
On November 21, 2011, the first South Stream facility was put into operation - the Banatski Dvor underground gas storage facility in Serbia, which is one of the largest gas storage facilities in South-Eastern Europe.
In the third quarter of 2011, the development of a consolidated feasibility study (TES) for South Stream was completed, combining a feasibility study for the offshore section and a feasibility study for sections passing through the countries of Southern and Central Europe. The consolidated feasibility study presents the main technical solutions for the project with justification for their feasibility, an assessment of environmental safety and environmental protection measures, an assessment of the economic efficiency of the project, taking into account capital and operating costs.
In January 2012, in accordance with the instructions of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, a detailed action plan was approved, allowing the accelerated construction of the South Stream gas pipeline to begin not in 2013 as planned, but already in December 2012.
The final investment decision on South Stream will be made in November 2012.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
On Wednesday, February 24, Gazprom, Italian Edison and Greek DEPA signed a memorandum in Rome on the supply of Russian gas under the Black Sea through third countries to Greece and further to Italy. What is symptomatic, the day before the chairman of the board of Gazprom Alexey Miller met with the Minister of Economic Development of Italy Federica Guidi, and the Secretary General of the Greek Foreign Ministry was present at the signing ceremony Giorgos Tsipras.
The purpose of the memorandum is to organize a southern route for Russian gas supplies to Europe. For this purpose, the parties intend to use the results of the work carried out Edison And DEPA In the project's boundaries ITGI Poseidon (Interconnector Turkey - Greece - Italy), Gazprom reported.
“The revival of this project strengthens Europe's energy security by providing an additional supply channel, and enhances Greece's role as a major corridor for gas supplies from a variety of sources and routes,” said the chief executive officer. DEPA Theodoros Kitsakos.
Recall that "Poseidon" ( Poseidon) is the marine part of the project ITGI, from Turkey through Greece to Italy along the bottom of the Ionian Sea. The parties, including Bulgaria, signed an agreement on the construction of an underwater gas pipeline back in 2002, but the matter never came to fruition. It was assumed that the “thread” would stretch from the Greek Stavroliminas to the Italian Otranto. The cost of the entire project was estimated in 2008 at €1 billion, and the construction of its offshore section at €350 million.
In theory, today Poseidon could be a continuation of both the Turkish Stream and the South Stream. At one time, Gazprom consistently discussed the construction of these two gas pipelines with a capacity of 63 billion cubic meters per year each, in order to abandon transit through Ukraine. However, in the end both projects were frozen. "South Stream" - due to the opposition of European countries. “Turkish Stream” - due to the downing of the Russian Su-24M by the Turkish Air Force.
After this, Gazprom began negotiations on Nord Stream 2 with a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters with Northern European countries, and brought into the consortium BASF, E. On, Engie, OMV And Shell.
Perhaps this is what is now pushing the southern European countries to reconsider their positions and still decide to build a gas pipeline. At the beginning of January 2016, rumors appeared in the press about the possible resumption of South Stream. About such plans, as the Bulgarian newspaper wrote Standard, Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov allegedly told his circle. However, this information was not officially confirmed by the government of the republic.
What is behind Gazprom’s initiative? Will it be possible to implement the gas pipeline project to Southern Europe along the bottom of the Black Sea?
“They started talking about the southern route for Russian gas supplies again, since the problem of supplying Turkey and the Balkans bypassing Ukraine has not gone away,” notes Dr. Director of the Institute of National Energy Sergei Pravosudov.
— With the help of Nord Stream 2, the problem of supplies to Italy can be easily solved. In this case, it is enough to supply gas to Austria, and then there is an existing “pipe” through which the “blue fuel” can be transported to the Apennine Peninsula. The issue with Turkey and the Balkans is more difficult to resolve - here, in any case, it is necessary to build additional gas pipelines.
Let me remind you that Russian gas goes to Turkey along two routes: directly through the Blue Stream gas pipeline along the bottom of the Black Sea (its capacity is 16 billion cubic meters per year), and through the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline through Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria. This second route is problematic if we intend to refuse Ukrainian transit.
Gazprom’s memorandum is primarily aimed at resolving supply issues to Turkey and the Balkans, Edison And DEPA.
At the same time, the parties decided to provide for an additional possibility of gas supplies to Southern Italy. Let me remind you that there are now gas supplies there from Libya, but they are not very stable. In addition, no one can guarantee what will happen to Libya in 5-10 years. The Italians have already signed a gas agreement with Azerbaijan, but apparently they also want to hedge their bets with Russian “blue fuel”.
However, one must understand: a memorandum is just a declaration of intent, and not a binding decision.
“SP”: — What exactly might the southern supply route look like?
— There are only three countries through which Gazprom can enter Southern Europe through the Black Sea. These are Türkiye, Bulgaria and Romania. In my opinion, today the Bulgarian option is the most developed: a specific route has been defined, so construction of the gas pipeline can begin at any time.
But, as we remember very well, in December 2014 Moscow refused to build the South Stream pipeline through Bulgarian territory. This happened after the Bulgarian government, under the leadership Plamena Oresharski decided to stop working on the project in June 2014. Sofia explained this decision by the inconsistency of the project with the requirements of the European Commission.
Perhaps the situation has changed now - for example, Italy will be able to better defend its rights, and then Gazprom has a chance. If not, the Bulgarians have clearly shown that, in principle, they are not able to stand up for themselves. Therefore, there is no point in relying on them. Yes, if the European Commission - or better yet, the United States - allows the Bulgarians to accept Russian gas, they will happily seize the opportunity. But so far nothing indicates that they will receive such permission.
There is, however, an alternative option to the Black Sea: solve the problem of Ukraine and leave Ukrainian transit. This is possible if the situation in Nezalezhnaya stabilizes and its gas transportation system is owned and managed by an international gas consortium. But so far, of course, there is nothing like this in Ukraine.
"SP": - Does this mean that we can return to the Turkish Stream?
— The situation with the Turks is interesting. Türkiye, let me remind you, is the second largest buyer of Russian gas after Germany. Moreover, even after the incident with the Su-24M, after a sharp cooling in Russian-Turkish relations and unfriendly rhetoric on both sides, Russian gas continues to flow to Turkey without interruption. Gazprom has signed long-term contracts with Ankara, which we simply must fulfill. Therefore, if we refuse Ukrainian transit, we also need to solve the problem of falling Turkish supplies - after all, build a gas pipeline to Turkey.
On the other hand, the geopolitical balance of power is changing - things have already reached a temporary truce in Syria. Perhaps our relations with the Turks will improve in the future to such an extent that a return to the Turkish Stream will become possible.
I will say more: two-thirds of the Turkish Stream consists of the South Stream, the branch of which goes not to Bulgaria, but to the left, towards Turkey. This means that, if desired, it will be possible to build two gas pipelines: both to Turkey and to Bulgaria.
“SP”: — When will it become clear which routes we will use to supply gas to Europe?
“I don’t think anyone knows for sure right now.” Russia has a desire to ensure European supplies, Turkey and Southern Europe have objective gas needs. But, on the other hand, there are a lot of interested players in both the EU and the USA who are hindering the implementation of gas projects. One thing is certain: Gazprom will probably build one of the southern gas pipelines...
“Gazprom is solving the problem, as they say, from the tail,” notes Alexander Pasechnik, head of the analytical department of the National Energy Security Fund.
— By signing the memorandum, the concern signaled that it is ready to supply gas to Italy and Greece, and that the primary transit countries — Bulgaria and Turkey — should pay attention: the Black Sea project has been frozen, but can be updated again. After all, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not eternal, and if Turkey’s political course changes, it is quite possible that we will be able to begin implementing the Turkish Stream.
Gazprom outlines strategic goals and gives strategic outlines in the memorandum. From them, in particular, it follows that in general Gazprom’s course remains unchanged, and it intends to bypass Ukraine - both from the north and from the south.
Yes, today there are greater progress in Nord Stream 2 than in the southern direction. But in the southern direction there is a starting infrastructure: in the Krasnodar Territory, for example, Japanese pipes intended for the deep-water part of the gas pipeline are waiting in the wings. This suggests that South Stream is far from a crude project, and that Gazprom is committed to its implementation in the future.
On the other hand, the Russian concern softened its position on the Ukrainian route. As follows from Gazprom’s latest statements, Ukraine will remain a transit country after 2019, despite the political differences between Moscow and Kyiv.
In my opinion, this is a pragmatic decision. The fact is that in the current economic situation there is simply no point in the accelerated construction of new main gas pipelines.
Initially, when calculating the economic efficiency of both South Stream and Turkish Stream, a high gas price was taken into account - over $400 per thousand cubic meters. But since then, gas prices have fallen significantly, following oil prices, and in 2016 Gazprom would like to receive only $180 per thousand cubic meters from European buyers. Such an unfavorable situation greatly extends the payback period for main gas pipelines, which is not at all beneficial for Gazprom.
I think that the Russian concern, in any case, will first wait for the price of natural gas to rise, and only then will it build new gas pipelines, including to Southern Europe...
Millions of cubic meters of blue fuel are pumped through underwater gas pipelines all over the world every second. More than 6,000 kilometers of gas pipes have been laid in the North Sea alone. Nord Stream has been launched at full capacity, and the laying of Turkish Stream pipes along the bottom of the Black Sea is about to begin. And this is a very difficult job.
Construction work begins with exploration of the seabed along the entire length of the future gas pipeline. Obstacles can be very different - from large boulders to sunken ships and unexploded ammunition. Depending on the complexity of the obstacles, they are eliminated or bypassed. The places where the pipeline is buried in the ground are also determined.
Following the “underwater reconnaissance” comes, or rather floats, a pipe-laying vessel - a giant floating structure that directly lays pipes on the seabed. A special conveyor is mounted on board where the pipes are welded. After checking the welds with ultrasound and applying a special anti-corrosion coating, immersion begins.
It is carried out using a special boom - a stinger, which ensures that the pipes are immersed at a certain angle, eliminating metal deformation.
Interestingly, pipe laying begins at sea and can be carried out simultaneously in several areas, which are then connected to each other. Pipes laid at sea are pulled ashore using strong metal cables and then “flapped” is made - a connection with the land part of the gas pipeline.
Today, May 7, the laying of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline along the bottom of the Black Sea began. On the eve of May 4, Vladimir Putin gave the go-ahead to Alexey Miller to begin construction of the offshore section.
Turkish Stream is an export gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey and Europe with a total throughput capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters. gas per year. Two strings of the gas pipeline (one for supplies to Turkey, the second for Europe) will be laid along the bottom of the Black Sea from the coast near Anapa to the Turkish city of Luleburgaz. It is planned that the first gas via the new export route will arrive by the end of 2019.
The offshore installation will be carried out by Allseas vessels – Audacia and Pioneering Spirit. The same company won the tender for laying the first line of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. At the moment, the company has already laid more than 20 thousand deep-sea pipelines around the world.
The 225 meter pipe-laying vessel Audacia will carry out work at shallow depths.
The world's largest construction vessel, Pioneering Spirit, will operate in the deep waters. This is a double-hull catamaran with a length of 382 meters and a carrying capacity of 48 thousand tons. The cost of the vessel is almost $3 billion.
Interestingly, the ship was originally named Pieter Schelte, in honor of the father of the company owner, Edward Heerema, but was renamed Pioneering Spirit due to a scandal caused by the past of Pieter Schelte Herema (he was a high-ranking member of the Waffen-SS).
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