South Stream Gas Project: Gazprom Progress Update

The South Stream gas pipeline is an international infrastructure project aimed at constructing a pipeline with a capacity of 63 billion cubic meters across the Black Sea to supply Southern and Central Europe. First gas is planned to be delivered via the gas pipeline in late 2015.

Offshore section of the pipeline
Gazprom informs that arrangements for laying South Stream's offshore section are in full swing. The companies that won the open tender are intensely building up the pipe production for the first string.

An agreement has been signed for the gas pipeline construction as well as for the process facilities construction and the landfalls infrastructure development for four offshore gas pipeline strings in Russia and Bulgaria.

Pipe supply to Bulgaria will start as soon as this May. In June the operations will start on the Russian coast, in July – in Bulgaria. The offshore pipeline laying will begin this autumn.

Compressor stations
Operations are well underway at the Russkaya main compressor station, according to Gazprom, which is South Stream's starting point. It will be the world's leader in terms of installed capacity, which is 448 MW. The core process equipment, i.e. gas compressors and treatment units, are being installed at the station. This work will be completed in 2014.

Large-scale construction is currently in process at the Southern Corridor gas trunkline system to feed gas to South Stream. On the western route (Phase 1 of the project) 576 kilometers of pipes (65 per cent of its total length) have been welded and laid. Many gas pipeline sections are being tested. Compressor stations (CS) are under construction.

The core process equipment is being installed at the Kazachya CS and the Korenovskaya CS, which will be completed in the first quarter of 2015; the foundation is being constructed at the Shakhtinskaya CS. Preparations for the eastern route (Phase 2 of the project) construction have begun.