The Blue Stream natural gas pipeline project, which marks its 15th anniversary in 2018, has inspired Russian Gazprom's new TurkStream project.
The Blue Stream project is a non-transit gas pipeline that runs from Russia through the Black Sea to Turkey and delivers 16 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year.
The project was actually Gazprom’s pilot project for the construction of a gas transporting system through the sea bypassing transit countries.
Currently, this route is an alternative to the Transbalkan Corridor and ensures deliveries via the shortest route to Gazprom's second biggest foreign market, Turkey. The pipeline delivers more than 50 percent of Turkey's total gas imports from Russia.
The success of the Blue Stream has served as a basis for other Gazprom projects, such as the Nord Stream, Nord Stream II and the TurkStream.
Alexey Miller, chairman of the Gazprom management committee told Anadolu Agency that the Blue Stream project aided Turkey's energy security and the TurkStream will do likewise.
Miller said that based on the success and experience gained from the Blue Stream, the company started to build the TurkStream project.
'Taking Turkey's growing demand for natural gas into account, the TurkStream is designed to send even more reliable and secure gas to our Turkish and European partners,' he said.
Gazprom owns and operates the Blue Stream's Russian onshore section, while Russian-Italian company, Blue Stream Pipeline Company B.V. owns the offshore section of the pipeline.
According to information gathered by Anadolu Agency, the Blue Stream project required specific technical innovation to advance the project through mountainous terrain and through the corrosive hydrosulfuric environment of the Black Sea at water depths of more than two kilometers.
- Turkish gas infrastructure developed
Prior to gas supplies via the Blue Stream, Turkey's gas infrastructure was restricted to only five of its 81 provinces. Now the project has boosted the development of Turkey's gas infrastructure to the extent that in 2018, and in accordance with plans of the Turkish Energy Ministry, all cities are set for gasification.
For the past 15 years, Blue Stream has played a major role in ensuring the reliable delivery of Russian gas to a dynamically growing Turkish gas market.
On Sept. 7, 2017, a milestone of 150 bcm of gas was delivered via the gas pipeline. As at the end of February 2018, the total amount of gas delivered through the Blue Stream since its commissioning reached approximately 158 bcm.
- 2017: record year
Blue Stream enabled the supply of considerable amounts of gas directly via the shortest and most effective route that has mitigated transit risks for Turkey.
As per the results of 2017, a new record was set for Russian gas exports to Turkey.
Turkey received supplies of 29 bcm of gas, or 1.7 bcm (6.2 percent) more than in 2014 when the previous maximum of 27.3 bcm was recorded.
Deliveries via Blue Stream achieved their maximum in 2017 as well when 15.8 bcm of gas was transmitted through the pipeline, equivalent approximately to 55 percent of the total Russian gas supply to the Turkish market.
- Inspiring project
The implementation of the Blue Stream project ensured that Gazprom obtained valuable construction experience in the Black Sea.
It also proved that demand for Russian gas in Turkey has significant growth potential.
The success of the Blue Stream project was fundamental for the new project, the TurkStream project which will link the Russian Black Sea coast directly with the Western part of the Black Sea coast of Turkey.
According to TurkStream officials, the implementation of the TurkStream project is on schedule while the offshore section of the gas pipeline is currently under construction.
The new main gas transmission line will be commissioned at the end of 2019.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr