According to Gazprom's board member Oleg Aksyutin on Tuesday, Gazprom will start building the offshore section of the TurkStream gas pipeline in the coming months.
Aksyutin said at a press conference in Russia's capital Moscow that the construction process will start in the second half of 2017, and added that progress on the gas transportation system in Russia has mostly been finalized.
The TurkStream natural gas pipeline project agreement between Turkey and Russia was signed on Oct. 10, 2016 and was ratified by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 7. The project, which was announced by Putin during a 2014 visit to Turkey, is set to carry gas from Russia under the Black Sea to Turkey's Thrace region.
One line, with 15.75 billion cubic meters of capacity, is expected to supply the Turkish market, while a second line will carry gas to Europe.