Bulgaria’s state gas company signed a €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) contract on Wednesday with Saudi-led group Arkad to build a gas pipeline to carry mainly Russian natural gas.

The bill would sanction vessels that lay Russian energy export pipelines at least 100 feet below sea level.

The natural gas pipeline project TurkStream, which will carry Russian gas to Turkey and Europe, as well as Turkey's first nuclear power Akkuyu, currently under construction by the Russian firm Rosatom, are two prominent strategic projects.

Bulgaria, which is heavily dependent on Russian gas for its domestic needs, will lose hefty transit fees when TurkStream becomes operational at the end of this year and Gazprom stops its gas deliveries to Turkey, Greece and Macedonia via Bulgaria in 2020.

SHANA - Composed of two 930-km pipelines, TurkStream is able to supply over 30bcm/year of natural gas from Russia to supply Turkey's needs. After the construction of the offshore section, the onshore section on Turkey's soil remains to be constructed for this project to be completed. According to schedule, Russia's gas is planned to be exported to Turkey via this pipeline by end-2019.

МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - «В реализации проекта сооружения АЭС «Аккую» достигнут существенный прогресс с точки зрения выполнения основной задачи – физического пуска первого энергоблока в 2023 году к 100-летней годовщине Турецкой Республики. Ведется работа над привлечением инвесторов в проект, а также обучением будущих кадров на территории России», - рассказал Министр.

МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - «Учитывая, что пропускная способность газопровода составит 31,5 млрд. куб. м в год, он внесет большой вклад в укрепление энергобезопасности не только Турции, но и европейских стран, повышая глобальную энергетическую устойчивость. Уверен, что реализация такого масштабного проекта, как «Турецкий поток», будет способствовать дальнейшему укреплению российско-турецкого сотрудничества, - подчеркнул глава Минэнерго России.

GAZPROM - the TURKSTREAM project was going according to schedule. Specifically, the deep-water pipelaying for the offshore part of the gas pipeline’s first string had been completed in the Black Sea along with the construction of the second string in Russia’s exclusive economic zone.

WNN - The $20 billion project to build the four-unit, 4800 MWe plant is part of Erdogan's '2023 Vision' marking 100 years since the founding of modern Turkey and is intended to reduce the country's dependence on energy imports. The first unit is scheduled to start operations that year, with the other three units following by 2025. The plant is expected to meet about 10% of Turkey's electricity needs.

GAZPROM - The TurkStream project is well underway. In accordance with the plan, it is carried out simultaneously at three sections: onshore in Russia and Turkey and offshore in the Black Sea.