Gazprom awards TurkStream contract

Gazprom on Thursday announced it had signed a deal with the Swiss Allseas Group to start construction on the first section of the TurkStream pipeline.

Work is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2017. The 32-inch, 900-kilometre underwater section of TurkStream will reportedly consist of two pipes, one of which will carry gas for the Turkish market while the other will transport gas to Europe. Both are expected to come on line by the end of 2019. Allseas will utilise its Pioneering Spirit vessel, the world’s biggest ship. “We are delighted with this contract, especially as it utilises full capability of Pioneering Spirit in terms of tensioning capacity and lay speed,” company founder Edward Heerema said of the award.

The announcement came days after Turkey ratified the agreement to build TurkStream, which presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed in October. On Tuesday, speaking alongside his Turkish counterpart, Binali Yildirim, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told journalists that Russia would soon ratify it too.