Turkey approves South Stream EIA

The Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning of Turkey approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report and issued a positive opinion of the EIA results for South Stream’s offshore section in Turkey.

The report contains the assessment of potential environmental impacts caused by the gas pipeline construction, including the impact on the seabed geology, water quality and marine ecology. The document concludes that the project will have no considerable effect on the Black Sea environment or the regional fishing industry. In addition, the Report proposes a number of measures aimed at eliminating or mitigating any environmental impacts of the project. For example, the gas pipeline bypasses certain locations of shipwrecks. Such measures are already incorporated in the design documents for the gas pipeline construction.

South Stream’s offshore section will run at a distance of over 110 kilometers offshore Turkey at a depth reaching 2,200 meters. The first string of the offshore gas pipeline in Russia’s territorial waters will be laid starting from late 2014. The first pipelaying vessel will enter the Turkish exclusive economic zone in the first quarter of 2015. The first offshore pipeline will be commissioned by late 2015.

Press Release, July 24, 2014; Image: Gazprom