TurkStream project co sets up branch in Istanbul
MOSCOW. March 30 (Interfax) - South Stream Transport B.V. has set up a branch in Istanbul to implement the TurkStream gas pipeline project and coordinate work in Turkey, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller told reporters.
"Drilling of the first micro-tunnel has been completed on the Russian section. The second micro-tunnel is 98.5% ready," Miller said.
"This is a very important decision. All of the conditions for starting offshore laying [of the pipeline] have thus been created," Miller said. The project "is in the active phase of construction," he said.
"Hydrographic surveys in Turkish waters are continuing. Work is being completed on an environmental impact study for the final section of the TurkStream route. In the second half of this year we will begin offshore laying of the gas pipeline and plan to complete construction of two lines of TurkStream by the end of 2019," Miller said.
At the pipeline's Russian landfall there are steep, rugged cliffs that run along a narrow strip of coastline. Engineers decided to use micro-tunneling in order to cross this strip, making it possible to lay the pipeline without construction work on the surface. Upon completion, trenches are backfilled and recultivated. The lines of the pipeline, running deep underground, will not be noticeable to local residents once construction is completed, Gazprom said.