The welding of pipes was completed by 76% on the South Caucasus pipeline (SCP). Thus, 530 km of the 690 km pipeline was welded. The 1st section of the SCP was successfully hydro-tested in July, Trend reports.
The SCP is constructed in the same corridor as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline to the Georgian-Azerbaijani border. The pipeline is envisaged for annual export of 7.3 billion cu m of gas from the Shah-Deniz field to Georgian and Turkey.
The construction of the SCP is carried out in accordance with the schedule. The first gas operations are supposed to start in autumn 2006.