On January 8, 2020, a festive ceremony of launching the Turkish stream gas pipeline was held in Istanbul. Russian president Vladimir Putin, Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Serbian president Alexander Vucic and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov turned a symbolic valve-thus starting the transport of Russian gas through the pipeline to Turkey and southern Europe.
Vladimir Putin referred to the Turkish Stream as a unique and unprecedented offshore gas transport system and noted that the launch of the pipeline is an important event not only for Russia and Turkey, but also for the entire European continent.
In addition, Vladimir Putin highlighted, that advanced innovative technologies were used in the construction of the gas pipeline, which made it possible to ensure not only the maximum economic efficiency of deliveries, but also the environmental safety of the gas pipeline operation. At the same time, a world record was set for the speed of offshore pipeline installation – more than 6 km of pipes in one day.
The Turkish stream gas pipeline consists of two branches with a capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters per year each. The first line is designed to supply Russian gas to Turkish consumers and the second line is to supply the countries of Southern and South-Eastern Europe.
Since the beginning of January 2020, Bulgaria, Northern Macedonia and Greece have been receiving gas through Turkish Stream pipeline. In addition to these countries, Russian gas should reach Serbia this year, and Hungary in 2021. The Serbian section of the gas pipeline is also ready for operation. It is expected that the first deliveries of Russian gas to Serbia will begin in may this year and will amount to about 3 billion cubic meters per year.
Source:
https://rg.ru/2020/01/08/prezidenty-rossii-i-turcii-zapustili-tureckij-potok.html
http://www.ngv.ru/news/putin_i_erdogan_zapustili_turetskiy_potok/
