The startup complex of the Russia – Turkey gas pipeline (the Blue Stream) has been inaugurated today.
Participating in the activities dedicated to the pipeline commissioning were representatives of the Russian, Turkish and Italian parties. The delegations’ heads carried out a test supply of gas to the Durusu terminal “candle” located 60 km off the town of Samsun (Turkey). Gazprom’s delegation was chaired by Bogdan Budzulyak, Head of the Department of Gas Transportation, Underground Storage and Utilization. The delegation was also comprised of Boris Posyagin, Head of the Gazprom Central Gas Flow Dispatching Department, Sergey Emelyanov, Deputy Director General of Gazexport, Yury Basarygin, Director General of Kubangazprom and Vladimir Usoshin, Director General of Orgenergogaz.
The Turkish party was represented by Muammer Guler, Governor of the Samsun Province, Yusuf Ziya Yilmaz, Mayor of Samsun, Recep Arslantay, Head of the Botas Natural Gas Operations Department, Levent Ishykylar, Head of the Botas Department of the Capital Investments and Capital Construction. Salvatore Caruso, Technical Director of BSPC was present at the meeting on behalf of the Italian party.
The parties signed a protocol on commissioning the Blue Stream gas pipeline. Pursuant to the protocol the parties note with satisfaction that within the implementation of the Intergovernmental Agreement between Russia and Turkey dated December 15, 1997, Russian gas was delivered via the constructed gas pipeline (the Blue Stream) on December 30, 2002 to the Durusu terminal of Botas, Turkey. The gas pressure of 25 atmospheres will be built up to 55 atmospheres. Thus, the Russian, Italian and Turkish organizations completed the construction ant commissioning of the unique gas pipeline system (the blue Stream) from the town of Izobilnoye (Russia) to Ankara (Turkey). The protocol was signed by Bogdan Budzulyak, Head of the Gazprom Department of Gas Transportation, Underground Storage and Utilization, Recep Arslantay, Head of the Botas Natural Gas Operations Department and Yury Lebedev-Tsvetkov, Head of the Gazexport Technical Department.
It is planned that in January 2003, solemn events on the occasion of the gas pipeline commissioning will take place.
The gas pipeline is projected to be brought to its design capacity by 2008. The design capacity of the pipeline accounts for 16 bcmpa.
Background:
The startup complex of the Blue Stream gas pipeline includes a 370 – km – long Russian onshore section of the pipeline with 1,400 mm (the lowland) and 1,200 mm (the mountainous land) in diameter; the 396 km – long first string of the offshore section with 610 mm in diameter, the Krasnodarskaya compressor station (CS) with a dispatcher station; a crane site at the Beregovaya CS and a gas treatment unit.
The complex commissioning will enable to supply 2 bcm of gas to Turkey in 2003.