The construction of the first line of the offshore section of the South Stream
gas pipeline is set to start in the autumn, Dutch-based South Stream Transport
BV, a joint venture established for the planning, construction and operation of
the Black Sea section of the facility, said on Friday.
South Stream,
spearheaded by Gazprom, aims to diversify gas routes within the European Union
and to provide stable gas supplies from Russia to central and southern Europe.
The offshore section of the pipeline is to pass through the economic zones of
Russia, Turkey and Bulgaria. Intergovernmental agreements have been signed with
Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Greece, Slovenia, Austria and Croatia in order to
implement the onshore gas pipeline section.
The offshore section of the
South Stream pipeline will be made up of four parallel pipelines of 931
kilometres each.
This week South Stream Transport BV awarded a contract
to Germany’s RMG Messtechnik for the supply of metering equipment for the
landfall facilities in Russia and Bulgaria, the Dutch-based company said in a
press release, adding that all arrangements for the first two offshore pipelines
are in now place.
In the first quarter of 2014, South Stream Transport
placed orders for the supply of more than 150,000 pipes for the first two
pipelines. In addition, Saipem and Allseas were contracted for construction and
offshore pipe laying services. Since January 2014, the company has also signed
agreements with two Bulgarian ports for pipe storage, with Siemens for the
supply of equipment for control of pipeline operations and with DNV-GL for the
certification of the pipeline.
South Stream is planned to go live by the
end of 2015 with a pipeline capacity of some 63 billion cubic metres per
year.
South Stream Transport BV is controlled by Gazprom, which holds a
50% stake, with Italian group Eni controlling a 20% stake and French energy
group EDF and German company Wintershall each owning 15%.