Gazprom starts up Dzhubga-Sochi gas pipeline - Sochi
SOCHI. June 6 (Interfax) - Gazprom has started up the Dzhubga-Lazarevskoye-Sochi gas pipeline, which will supply gas to consumers in the Sochi region, including the facilities being built for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, an Interfax correspondent reported from the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Prior to the ceremony, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin toured an exhibition detailing the construction of the pipeline with Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller.
Miller said that the pipeline will supply 3.78 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas, prompting Putin to comment: "That's a lot. There are several European countries that only use 3 bcm and it's more here." All of the gas carried on the pipeline will be used by consumers in Russia, he said.
"Of course, the greater Sochi area will be the main consumer. We are fully covering peak demand in this region," he said. "The launch of the pipeline is a momentous occasion for the Sochi region and for all of southern Russia," Putin said. "We deliberately selected the route across the seafloor in order to reduce the impact on the ecosystem in Krasnodar territory," he said.
The 171.6-kilometer pipeline, most of which runs under the Black Sea, was made entirely of pipe manufactured in Russia, Miller said.
Construction of the pipeline began in September 2009 and was completed in barely 18 months, Putin said.
Miller said the cost of the project, including all auxiliary facilities, was 31.5 billion rubles. The new pipeline supplements the existing Maikop-Samurskaya-Sochi pipeline, which has capacity for 1.5-2 bcm a year. "This system will insure us against all emergency situations," Miller said.
The new pipeline "will make it possible to close all the coal-fired power plants in Sochi," Miller said, adding that the pipeline would not have a negative environmental impact.
One of the main consumers of gas from the pipeline will be the Adler Combined Heat and Power Plant, which will provide about one-third of peak electricity demand during the 2014 Olympics. The new pipeline will also help accelerate the gasification of the Sochi and Tuapse regions.
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