Gazprom has started laying the TurkStream gas pipeline in the deep-water area off the coast of Anapa.
The operations were launched with the command given by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to the Pioneering Spirit pipe-laying vessel.
Vladimir Putin and Alexey Miller, chairman of the Gazprom management committee, explored the machinery and equipment of the vessel, including its gas pipeline construction facility used for welding and applying protective coatings to pipes.
On May 7, 2017, the Audacia vessel started the construction of the TurkStream gas pipeline near the Russian coast. Pioneering Spirit is tasked to build the deep-water section of the TurkStream gas pipeline.
TurkStream is the project for a transit-free export gas pipeline stretching across the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey and further to Turkey’s border with neighboring countries. The first string of the gas pipeline is intended for Turkish consumers, while the second string will deliver gas to southern and southeastern Europe. Each string will have the throughput capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas per year.