The reward of being first carries with it the risk of being wrong. The "Blue Stream" project, the first of ten announced Caspian pipelines, will start importing Russian gas to Turkey under the Black Sea starting in November 2000. Sixteen billion M3 volumes of natural gas will transit 1,236 km of pipeline for a period of 25 years under Turkish Law 4357 signed in April. Financing has been guaranteed by BOTAS and the Russian Federation.

"Blue Stream" is an offshore alternative pipeline to bypass five littorial states, "Emrah Eigelen of OHS told World Cogeneration. Eigelen was interviewed the week of November 9 in the capital city of Ankara during a trade mission arranged by Washington- based Patton Boggs, who represents the Republic of Turkey in the United States.

The OHS Consortium, a joint venture between Turkish companies Oztas and Hazeridaroglu and Russia's Straytionsgaz, will construct the $370 million on-shore pipeline and Saipem will construct the $1.5 billion Black Sea Segment. When constructed, it will be the deepest underwater pipeline in the world at 2.1 km. OHS will also construct the metering and compressor stations.

Four of the five BOO projects signed the week of October 9 are gas-fired combined-cycle plants adding 4,400 MWs. Turkey needs an additional 40,000 MWs by 2010 of installed capacity.

Firm supply can not be guaranteed by BOTAS. Ibrahim Pektas, a board member of Diler Holdings, told World-Generation that a cogen plant was on the drawing boards for their steel and vessel divisions and that they were awaiting world from BOTAS on guarantees.

Additional pipelines are needed to come on-line. Trans-Caspian and Baku-Cayhan are two U.S. backed pipelines understudy. Enron's feasibility study for TDA on the Trans-Caspian is due November 16 for the thirty to sixty-day review. Baku Cayhan is decidedly too expensive and has found resistance industry-wide.

The Blue Stream project appears to be well ahead and will be rewarded for its risk.