On April 16, 2002 Stroytransgaz has successfully completed the tunnel laying of 2082 m gas pipeline with diameter of 2.54 m in Caucasus Mountains at the construction of Russia - Turkey (Blue Stream Project) gas main.
Tuesday, April 16, 2002
On April 16, 2002 Stroytransgaz has successfully completed the tunnel laying of 2082 m gas pipeline with diameter of 2.54 m in Caucasus Mountains at the construction of Russia - Turkey (Blue Stream Project) gas main. For the first time in the Russian practice of oil-and-gas construction the Company used a method of shield driving through a mountain ridge, that allowed to save 7 hectares of valuable wood breeds and considerably increase the operational reliability of the pipeline. - It is possible to guarantee with confidence, that this tunnel, built through the mountain with an unusual title "Kobila" (Mare), - is a capital structure, which will serve for centuries completely excluding negative impacts on surrounding environment, - said Mr. A. Vorobjev, Vice-President of OAO Stroytransgaz. Initially the Customer envisioned executing the construction of mountainous section of the Blue Stream Project by traditional (ground-level) method. However, it would cause destruction of a natural landscape and sensitive ecological surrounding. Moreover, this technology required additional operations to protect gas pipeline from the elements of nature. According to statistics of DОАО Giprospecgas, landslides and mudflows are among the main reasons of failures at gas pipelines in mountain terrains of Krasnodar and Stavropol regions. OAO Stroytransgaz has offered an alternative laying method of this section of the pipeline - the tunnel one, which minimally effects the environment, both during the construction and operating period. The production enterprise "Mostovik" (Omsk), which already had experience of similar operations at rocky grounds, was invited by the Company to participate in the designing of the project. Tunnel transition in the form of ferro-concrete case was made by the modern, highly technological complex of Canadian firm LOVAT, certified in the Russian market. Technical solutions incorporated in the project, correspond to the acting specifications and are suitable for the complex geological and seismic conditions of the construction area. Now it is proposed to use the trench-less method of pipeline lying at other mountainous areas of the Russia – Turkey pipeline (Blue Stream Project). In particular: the preliminary works are carried out at Bezimjanniy ridge.
