Istanbul, November 13 - Neftegaz.RU. Russia's President Vladimir Putin will pay a visit to Istanbul on November 19 for a ceremony marking the completion of the sea section of the TurkStream natural gas pipeline project. President Recep Erdoğan will also be attending the ceremony.
Gazprom is planning to start the construction of the overland section of the TurkStream's 2nd gas pipeline in 2019. The project's spokeswoman said the project will be completed by the end of 2019 as planned.
According to the information provided by the TurkStream authorities, the project has been designed to operate for at least 50 years. The 1st line reached the Turkish shore at the end of April after 930 km of deepwater offshore pipe laying from Anapa, Russia to Kıyıköy, Turkey.
TurkStream's 1st line will carry 15.75 bcm of natural gas to Turkey. The project will have a total throughput capacity of 31.5 billion m3 with the 2nd line that will go to Europe. Russia is reportedly considering options for extending the pipeline through Bulgaria and Serbia or through Greece and Italy.
Following his talks with Italian PM Giuseppe Conte in late October, Russian President Putin told reporters they were examining all opportunities, including connecting Italy to TurkStream via Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Greece.
In late October, Serbia's Minister of Mines and Energy Aleksandar Antic said Serbia was ready to join the TurkStream pipeline project. He had said the construction of the pipeline will soon be completed, and Serbia joining the project would be a great opportunity for improving energy security for both the nation and the region.
