Land & sea sections of natural gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey connected

The last joint connecting offshore and land sections of the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline have been welded, Russian media reported, citing the project’s operator South Stream Transport B.V.

The operator said on Tuesday that the event represents the completion of all works on the gas transmission system via the Black Sea.

During the technical operation called the “above water tie in,” the length running along the bottom of the Black Sea and the one lying on the land were lifted on a special platform to connect them into a single pipeline, the company said in a statement on Tuesday, as cited by RIA. After the lines of the pipeline were connected, the offshore section was lowered back into the sea to a depth of 32 meters.

The Turkish Stream, also known as TurkStream, is set to be ready for commercial operations in late 2019 after the construction of a terminal near the Turkish town of Kiyikoy.

The Turkish Stream consists of two lines with an annual capacity to deliver 31.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The 930km offshore section, completed in November, runs along the bottom of the Black Sea from Russia to the Turkish coast. Its 180km land section stretches further through Turkey to deliver gas to the countries of southern and southeastern Europe.

In early March, Serbia gave the nod for the construction of the branch of the Turkish Stream to extend the route from Bulgaria to Hungary. Earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban asked Russia to extend the gas pipeline to his country and further into Europe.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section