South Stream Transport B.V., the project owner of the offshore section of the TurkStream natural gas pipeline, announced yesterday that 30 percent of construction has been completed.
The company said that the world's largest pipe laying vessel, Pioneering Spirit, completed pipe laying of around 555 kilometers (344 miles) for both of the two TurkStream lines.
The vessel, which moves at an average speed of 5 kilometers per day, completed this segment of the project in under seven months.
"In total 555 kilometers of the pipeline was laid down, equally divided over the two lines. Construction of 30 percent of the offshore pipeline section has been realized in less than seven months," the company announced.
It said the Pioneering Spirit will continue construction of the two pipelines until it reaches Turkish soil near the town of Kıyıköy, located approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of Istanbul.
The Russian natural gas giant Gazprom previously announced that the first pipeline of the TurkStream entered the Turkish exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on Nov. 4.
The Pioneering Spirit marked the occasion by laying the section of the pipeline on the seabed with Russian and Turkish flags, symbolizing the crossing of the EEZ border between the two countries.
The vessel crossed the Bosporus and entered the Black Sea on May 31, and Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin officially started pipe laying on June 23 in the deep-water sections of the Black Sea.
When complete, the TurkStream project will consist of two offshore pipelines with a total capacity to transport up to 31.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.
Moreover, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak previously announced that the construction of the first pipeline would be completed by 2019.
Meanwhile, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Department of State's Bureau of Energy Resources John McCarric said Wednesday the United States opposes TurkStream, which has attracted strong criticism from Turkey.
On the other hand, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in mid-August the TurkStream gas pipeline project will be implemented on time, regardless of the new U.S. law that expands sanctions against Moscow.
TurkStream will directly transfer gas to western Turkey and will render the country a direct purchaser of Russian gas, discharging transit countries. The project also aims to carry Russian gas to Europe via Turkey, which is believed to strengthen Turkey's strategic position in the regional energy platform.
The 1,880-kilometer (940 kilometers each) double pipeline will originate from Russia's Anapa coast and reach Kıyıköy, Turkey.
Two offshore lines and a reception terminal in Kıyıköy will be constructed under the care of the South Stream Company, a subsidiary of Gazprom. After landfall in Kıyıköy, the overland section of the pipeline from Kıyıköy to Lüleburgaz will be constructed by BOTAŞ.
Meanwhile, negotiations on the European section that will be built jointly by BOTAŞ-Gazprom are in progress. Currently, two primary routes are being discussed and the pipeline will either move toward Serbia and Hungary via Bulgaria and toward Italy via Greece or it will enter Europe via Bulgaria and Greece.
TurkStream was first proposed by the Russian president in 2014 during his visit to Turkey. But after the jet-downing crisis in November 2015 the project was suspended until relations started to normalize.
On Oct. 10, Turkey and Russia signed an inter-governmental agreement on construction of the planned TurkStream gas pipeline to compress Russian gas under Turkish waters in the Black Sea toward Europe.
The agreement was signed by Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak and his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak, in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after talks in Istanbul as part of the 23rd World Energy Congress.