The Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning in Turkey has issued a positive opinion of the planned South Stream pipeline’s offshore section in the country.
The announcement follows the government’s approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report, which sets out potential environmental impacts caused by the gas pipeline construction, including the impact on the seabed geology, water quality and marine ecology.
The document concluded the project will have no considerable effect on the Black Sea environment or the regional fishing industry.
The report also proposed a number of measures to eliminate or mitigate any environmental impacts of the project, including setting out bypasses for certain locations of shipwrecks.
South Stream, a global infrastructure project by Russian state giant Gazprom (50% shares) and partners Eni (20%), Wintershall (15%) and EDF (15%), sets out the construction of a gas pipeline with a capacity of 63billion cubic meters across the Black Sea to Southern and Central Europe in order to diversify the natural gas export routes and eliminate transit risks.
At present, the gas pipeline construction is underway in Russia, Bulgaria and Serbia. The pipeline’s offshore section will run at a distance of over 110 kilometres offshore Turkey at a depth reaching 2,200 meters.
First gas via South Stream will be supplied to European consumers in late 2015. The gas pipeline will reach its full capacity in 2018.
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