Subsea lines laid for Blue Stream natural gas pipeline

Blue Stream Pipeline Co. BV -- a 50-50 joint venture of Italy's ENI SPA and Russia's OAO Gazprom -- completed laying two subsea lines of the Blue Stream natural gas pipeline, which will connect Russian gas fields to Turkey via the Black Sea.

Feb. 20, 2002

By the OGJ Online Staff

HOUSTON, Apr. 25 -- Blue Stream Pipeline Co. BV -- a 50-50 joint venture of Italy's ENI SPA and Russia's OAO Gazprom -- completed laying two subsea lines of the Blue Stream natural gas pipeline, which will connect Russian gas fields to Turkey via the Black Sea. (OGJ Online, Dec. 21, 2000).

The two 380 km, 24-in. lines were laid by Saipem SPA's Saipem 7000 semisubmersible pipelaying vessel in water depths as deep as 2,150 m. Later, these lines will be connected using Saipem's Castoro 8 vessel to an existing section of pipeline off Turkey, ENI said.

When completed and at full capacity, Blue Stream will transport 16 billion cu m/year of gas.

The offshore section of the system will consist of a compressor station at Beregovaya, Russia, and two 380-km offshore pipeline systems that will be laid in varying depths, the deepest of which is 2,150 m.