The meeting participants reviewed the progress with meeting the deadlines of the Dzhubga – Lazarevskoye – Sochi gas pipeline construction and heard the reports on arranging procurement for the pipeline facilities.
It was noted that pipes, equipment and materials had been supplied in sufficient quantities for the onshore section construction. By now, 7.2 kilometers of onshore line pipes have been welded, trenched and covered with ground.
Pre-construction operations for the offshore section are nearing completion. Implementation of the linear part is projected to start this March, as soon as weather conditions become relatively favorable. At present, horizontal directional drilling is being carried out to install the pipeline landfall sections. At one section, located near the settlement of Novomikhailovskoye, drilling operations have been completed.
During the gas pipeline construction particular attention is being paid to the environmental safety.
Based on the meeting results, the specialized subdivisions and subsidiaries were entrusted with the tasks aimed at timely execution of the construction schedule.
The Dzhubga – Lazarevskoye – Sochi gas pipeline has been included into the Program approved by the Russian Federation Government and aimed at the construction of Olympic facilities and development of Sochi as a mountain-climatic resort. Gazprom launched construction of the gas pipeline in September 2009. The pipeline will secure reliable energy supplies to Sochi and to the Olympic facilities under construction; it will give a powerful impetus to the gasification advancement in Sochi and the Tuapse District and will considerably cut the energy deficit on the Caucasian coast of the Black Sea. The construction is to be completed in the second quarter of 2010.
The gas pipeline will stretch 177 kilometers including a 159.5-kilometer offshore section. The pipeline route will run on the Black Sea bottom along the coastal line (around 4.5 kilometers away from the shore) to the Kudepsta gas distribution station near Sochi.
The 530-millimeter gas pipeline will have the annual throughput capacity of some 3.8 billion cubic meters.
Gazprom pays great attention to environmental activities to be taken during the pipeline construction. The construction schedule has been worked out with due regard to the most vital biocycles of the local fauna species and enables to maximally reduce the environmental impact caused by the construction process.
All the operations will be held in compliance with the globally accepted standards and rules for engineering and building of submerged pipelines. The Dzhubga – Lazarevskoye – Sochi gas pipeline will be constructed with no disruption of the regional landscape, which is especially important for the animal ecosystem preservation.
The offshore option of the gas pipeline route has minimized allocation of industrial, agricultural and forest lands, as well as specially protected natural reservations.
The most suitable coastal line crossing procedure, horizontal directional drilling, considerably mitigates the environmental impact on the most vulnerable coastal ecosystems. As a result, it will be possible to avoid interference with the coastal wildlife area.
