02-02-00 Just a week after Gazprom began work on the Russian onshore section of the Goluboi Potok (Blue Stream) gas pipeline, Turkey's Botas launched construction of its own part of the pipe.
Work on the Turkish section of the Blue Stream officially began at Haymana, located 60 km south of the capital Ankara. Botas, together with one Turkish and one Russian company, with building of the pipeline along a 501-km route from the Black Sea port of Samsun to Haymana.
The third section of the pipeline will run beneath the bed of the Black Sea between Dzhugba, in Russia, and Samsun. Gazprom and ENI of Italy are to build this underwater link, with help from Bouygues of France.

The Russian gas monopoly hopes that the Blue Stream pipeline, which will eventually run 1,200 km from Izobilnoye to Haymana, will carry up to 16 bn cm of gas per year to Turkey.
The Russian parliament has already given its approval to documents authorizing work on the project, and Russia's First Deputy Premier Mikhail Kasyanov said last week that he hoped to see the Turkish parliament do the same in April. He conceded, however, that the Turks had to move cautiously so as not to sour relations with Turkmenistan, which is also hoping to sell gas on the Turkish market.