Blue Stream is the largest Trans-Black Sea gas pipeline through which fuel flows from Russia to Turkey. It was built by the Dutch branch of Gazprom BV LLC and Italian Eni, and began to operate in 2005. Part of the gas pipeline in Turkey is controlled by the local energy company BOTAS. The rest is controlled by the Russian Federation. The main goal of the Blue Stream is to diversify the delivery of Russian fuel to Turkey, bypassing third countries.
History of creation
The preparation of the gas pipeline project began in 1997. In December, Russia and Turkey signed an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of a coastal canal. At the same time, Gazprom LLC agreed with BOTAS on a twenty-five-year fuel supply contract. In February 1999, a Memorandum between the Russian and Italian sides was signed, and a Dutch branch was also created.
The construction of the Blue Stream was carried out in 2001-2002. The offshore section was constructed by the Italian company Saipem, and the Russian land by Stroytransgaz. Blue Stream began operating in February 2003. However, due to the conflict between Russia and Turkey over fuel prices, the official opening ceremony at the Darusu gas metering station was not held until September 17, 2005. It was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Ministers of Turkey and Italy.
Gas pipeline specifications
Blue Stream began operating at full capacity in 2010. Its throughput is 16 billion cubic meters. The total length of the Blue Stream is 1213 kilometers. The Russian part begins with the Abundant Gas Plant near Stavropol and ends in the Krasnodar Territory. The greatest length falls on Turkey - 444 kilometers. Pipes with different diameters are used in the gas pipeline: onshore part - 1400 millimeters, mountain part - 12000, offshore - 610. Pressure reaches 25 MPa. Blue Stream is considered the deepest gas pipeline in the world. It lies 2.2 kilometers below ground level.
In 2014, Turkey and Russia reached an agreement to increase throughput by 3 billion cubic meters. A fuel price audit was also conducted.
Financing and the first difficulties
Blue Stream is a very large-scale project. Its actual development started back in 1987, when Turkey began to import fuel from the USSR. Initially, the volume was 0.5 billion cubic meters, today it has grown 34 times. This construction is an extremely large-scale project. Problems began at the first stage, so it was launched late in three years. The total construction cost of the gas pipeline amounted to 3.2 billion US dollars. He was paid jointly by the Turkish and Russian side. 1.7 billion US dollars were spent on the construction of the offshore section.
Immediately after the start of the gas pipeline, the Turkish side stated that it was not ready to accept such volumes of fuel. To prevent disruption of the project, the Russian Federation lowered the price and decided to reduce supplies. But the debate did not end there. In 2004, Vladimir Putin even had to intervene and lower the price to the level of supplies along the Bulgarian route.
Blue Stream 2 gas pipeline
The new highway project was first proposed in 2002. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the construction of the second line and the expansion of the existing gas pipeline with the help of the Samsun-Keyhan link and a branch to Southeast Europe. The development of the project intensified after the decision of five countries to begin the construction of Nabucco. Soon, however, talk of expansion turned into a project called South Stream. The new gas pipeline should directly connect Bulgaria and Russia. But now he is in a frozen state due to the aggravation of relations with Ukraine.
In 2009, Vladimir Putin, as prime minister, proposed a highway that would run parallel to the Blue Stream under the Black Sea and continue along the route from Samsun to Keyhan. From there, he could transport gas to Syria, Libya, Israel and Cyprus. To date, this project remains an extremely long-term issue; there are no updates on its status yet.
Environment protection
The construction of the Blue Stream was associated with large-scale protests by environmentalists. But they did not have a significant impact on the process itself, since official environmental impact assessments showed minor damage to it. The construction was continued, the launch of the project proved that there were no serious reasons for concern. But all these assessments remain controversial, because all parties are extremely interested in its functioning. Moreover, all the examinations were mainly carried out by Russia, for which the Blue Stream is of strategic importance, especially after the aggravation of its relations with Ukraine and the freezing of the South Stream. Although in the case of obvious violations, the American side would not fail to intervene.
Current state
The Blue Stream gas pipeline is a project that should become the basis for strategic cooperation between Russia and Turkey in the energy and transport sectors. The existing direction of transit went through Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and Bulgaria. Land transportation of fuel made it more expensive; there were numerous complaints about its theft by the states in whose territory it ran.
But from the very beginning of the Blue Stream operation, the project had difficulties, including within Russia. As shown by the audit performed by the Accounts Chamber, the Italian company took advantage of the benefits that were not inherent to it. This, of course, caused damage to the state budget. According to experts, only in 2003 it amounted to 1 billion US dollars.
