Mitsui and Marubeni ready to take part in Blue Stream.

Japanese companies Mitsui and Marubeni are ready to take part in the Blue Stream project -- a gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey across the Black Sea bed, a source at Gazprom told.
The companies may join the construction of the land part of the project. Preliminary works are underway. Construction works will begin after March, 1999, and will finish in the fourth quarter of 2000.
Russian gas will reach the Turkish consumers at the end of 2000. In 2003, Turkey will receive 8 billion cm of natural gas.
Upon completion of the Blue Stream, Turkey will be getting about 30 bn cm of Russian gas annually.
The mainline will cost about $ 2.5 bn. The pipeline will have three sections -- Izobilnoye-Dzhubga on the Russian shore (373 km), Dzhubga-Samsun across the seabed (396 km) and Samsun-Ankara (444 km) on the Turkish side.