OREANDA-NEWS. The construction of the Kazachya compressor station (CS) started today in the Krasnodar Territory. At the moment, the foundation is being built for the station facilities.

The start of the Kazachya CS construction is a significant stage of the Southern Corridor gas transmission system (GTS) project aimed at ensuring gas supply into South Stream as well as gasification of Russia's central and southern regions.

The full capacity of the Kazachya CS is 220 MW. Along with gas transmission, it will ensure water and admixtures removal. The CS annual capacity makes up 63 billion cubic meters of gas. Eight gas compressor units of the Kazachya CS will supply gas at a pressure of 11.8 MPa to the Russkaya CS. Then gas will be fed to South Stream.

Background

With a view to diversify the natural gas export routes Gazprom is implementing a project for the construction of a gas pipeline running under the Black Sea to the countries of Southern and Central Europe – the South Stream project, the construction of which started in December 2012.

Gazprom Group is implementing the Southern Corridor GTS project in the aim of supplying additional gas to a number of Russia's central and southern regions in order to develop industrial and utility sectors, intensify gasification and ensure gas supply into South Stream.

The project covers eight Russian constituents: the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the Republic of Mordovia, the Penza, Saratov, Volgograd, Voronezh and Rostov Regions as well as the Krasnodar Territory.

The total length of the gas transmission system will be 2,506.2 kilometers. The project stipulates building 10 compressor stations with a total capacity of 1,516 MW. The annual throughput of the Southern Corridor gas pipeline system will amount to 63 billion cubic meters. The project is to be implemented before late 2017.

At present, the Portovaya CS is the world's most powerful compressor station. Its aggregate capacity is 366 MW, working pressure – up to 220 Ata, gas transmission distance – above 1,200 kilometers. It is located in the Portovaya Bay near Vyborg (Leningrad Region) and ensures gas transmission via Nord Stream.