South Stream in Process of Selecting Contractors for Gas Pipes

The South Stream project confirmed its intention to construct a 59-kilometer gas pipeline branch to bring gas to consumers in Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece and Macedonia, reads a note released on Wednesday.

‘Despite the numerous opponents of South Stream and the opinions of European skeptics doubting the success of the project aimed at constructing a new gas trunkline from Russia to Southern and Central Europe, it is progressing at a fast pace,’ reads the Gazprom Magazine.

The project confirmed the timeline, with the gas pipeline commissioning scheduled for December 2015. The full design capacity of 63 billion cubic meters a year is expected in 2018.

At the moment, the attention is focused on selecting suppliers and construction contractors.

“Taking into account the project’s complexity and scale, only the companies which have already proved themselves in other major international projects and which have a vast experience are chosen for the South Stream project. For instance, following the bidding results, Dutch Intecsea was chosen as the general designer of the offshore gas pipeline section... German Europipe, Japanese Nippon Steel and Sumitomo, Russian Severstal, Vyksa Metallurgical Plant, Chelyabinsk Pipe-Rolling Plant, Izhora Pipe Mill and others are competing for the right to supply the gas pipes,” said Leonid Chugunov, Head of the Project Management Department of Gazprom.