First section of TurkStream pipeline opens in Bulgaria

Bulgaria inaugurated on Monday an 11-km gas pipeline from the Turkish border to compressor station Strandzha, which will serve as part of the extension of Gazprom's TurkStream pipeline toward Serbia, the Bulgarian energy ministry said.

The opening was attended by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova, the management of Bulgartransgaz, and the contractor, the Arkad consortium.

The construction of the Balkan Stream pipeline and gas metering station is an expression of Bulgaria's commitment to retain its strategic position on the European gas market, the ministry noted.

The project also included the construction of Strandzha gas metering station, the ministry said in a statement, as reported by SeeNews.

Works on the project were completed by a local tie-up under a 27.7 million levs (14.2 million euro) contract, SeeNews adds.

Construction of the second line of the TurkStream gas pipeline will be completed by 2020, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday after talks with the Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister of Bulgaria Ekaterina Zakharieva, TASS reports.

– Our Bulgarian colleagues told us about the start of the construction of infrastructure for transporting gas through the second branch of the Turkish Stream. According to the minister, the corresponding ceremony was held this very day with the participation of the Bulgarian Prime Minister and the Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria. The partners noted that the work will be completed by 2020, as planned – Lavrov said.

SeeNews reminds that, last month, Bulgaria's gas transmission system operator Bulgartransgaz signed a 1.1 billion euro contract with Saudi-led consortium Arkad for the construction of a gas pipeline, which will connect the country's existing gas transmission system to the border with Serbia, and will carry gas from TurkStream.

The offshore section of the TurkStream pipeline stretching 930 km across the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey consists of two parallel strings with annual throughput capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas each. One string is intended for consumers in Turkey, while the second will carry gas to customers in Europe through Bulgaria.

Gazprombank Moscow Russia

Ministry of Energy of Bulgaria

Gazprom

Bulgartransgaz

Arkad

TurkStream

Balkan Stream

Boyko Borisov

Temenuzhka Petkova

Sergey Lavrov