Dzhubga – Lazarevskoye – Sochi Gas Pipeline, Black Sea

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The 177km-long Dzhubga – Lazarevskoye – Sochi gas pipeline, which was built by Gazprom, was commissioned in June 2011. The Russian pipeline has a diameter of 20in and can carry 3.8 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas annually. It is the first submerged gas pipeline to be built in Russia with 90% being laid offshore. Construction of the pipeline began in September 2009 with the welding of the first joint in Dzhubga in Krasnodar Krai. The project was part of the Russian Government’s aim to supply gas to facilities being developed for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. Construction of the pipeline will help meet the increased demand for power from the region by 2014. The pipeline will supply gas to the Adler combined heat and power station (CHPS), which will be a primary source of power for Dzhubga, Lazarevskoye and Sochi. Adler will supply nearly one third of the power during the Olympic Games. It will also improve the living standards of the people in the regions and enable Sochi to be developed as a mountain-climatic resort. The pipeline will help in ensuring year-round operations of the resorts in the region. The pipeline starts in Krasnodarskaya and connects to the Blue Stream pipeline. It then runs under the Black Sea and connects to the Kudepsta thermal power plant and the Adler CHPS, near Sochi. The onshore section of the pipeline is 17.5km long with landfalls at Dzhubga, Novomikhailovsky, Tuapse and Kudepsta. The offshore section is 159.5km long and runs 4.5km from and parallel to the Black Sea coast. An onshore route of the pipeline was considered but studies revealed that it would have a negative impact on protected natural reservations including Sochi National Park and the Caucasian State Nature Biosphere Reserve. The pipeline route was altered to minimise the impact on agricultural and forest lands and to protect natural reservations. Major portion of the pipeline was, therefore, decided to be laid offshore. Specific areas of the Black Sea were examined to decide the route. Since the majority of the pipeline is offshore, the visual impact on the regional landscape is also reduced. State-of-the-art technology and latest construction techniques were used to reduce the environmental impact on the onshore and offshore sections. In March 2010, laying of the offshore section of the pipeline began near Tuapse. The C-Master pipelay barge was used to lay the pipeline in medium depth waters. The Bigfoot vessel laid the pipeline in shallow waters. The Phoenix vessel was used to transport personnel and construction materials. A research ship named Prince was used to carry out underwater engineering work. Horizontal directional drilling, which has a lower environmental impact, was used to lay the onshore sections of the pipeline. A special tunnel was drilled to connect the offshore and onshore sections, which were connected in May 2011. Romanian Grup Servicii Petroliere (GSP) was selected as the contractor for the offshore section of the project in 2009. GSP’s scope of work included laying the offshore section of the pipeline, welding, inspection and testing. It also carried out surveys and tie-ins with onshore sections of the pipeline. GSP supplied its Vega, Phoenix, Queen and Prince vessels to provide offshore support and crew transport. StroyGazMontazh was the general contractor for the onshore segment of the pipeline. RAS was contracted to provide testing services for the pipeline, which included flooding, cleaning and testing. Vyksa Steel Works, a unit of the United Metallurgical Company, supplied all the pipes (49,951t) required for the project.

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