Over 5.8 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Russian gas was transferred to Europe from Turkey via the TurkStream natural gas pipeline in 2020, industry sources said Sunday.

The TurkStream pipeline was opened by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Jan. 8.

After the first gas flow started in January, Russian natural gas was transferred to consumers in Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia and Romania.

Under international agreements signed with Turkey, the Turkish treasury receives monthly transit fees for every cubic meter transferred.

Commercial supplies via the gas pipeline commenced on Jan. 1, 2020.

TurkStream consists of two 930-kilometer-long (578-mile-long) offshore lines stretching from Russia to Turkey across the Black Sea, and two separate onshore lines 142 and 70 kilometers long, respectively.

The project has a total capacity of 31.5 bcm. The first line with a capacity of 15.75 bcm is designated for supplies to Turkey’s domestic customers, and the second line, with another 15.75 bcm capacity, carries Russian gas further to Europe through Bulgaria.

Meanwhile, Serbia on Friday said it had begun delivering natural gas to Europe through the TurkStream pipeline.

The 403-kilometer Serbian section was commissioned in a ceremony in Gospodjinci in the municipality of northern Zabalj.

Serbia received its first shipment of gas Wednesday from the pipeline project.

The commercial opening of the section of the pipeline that passes through Serbia from the Bulgarian to the Hungarian border was held as one of the first projects of 2021.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said at the ceremony that TurkStream will greatly contribute to the industry and economy in the country, as well as increase Serbians’ quality of life.

Vucic added that Serbia would receive gas through the pipeline at a price of up to $155 (TL 1,153) per cubic meter, with much lower transport costs than before. Also, Serbia will charge a transit tax, which will help pay for the pipeline’s construction.

Dusan Bajatovic, the CEO of Serbian natural gas company Srbijagas, said that up to 6 million cubic meters of gas would be brought to Serbia immediately.

The project’s gas receiving terminal in Kıyıköy, Turkey’s main onshore section, was constructed by the South Stream company, which is owned by Russia’s Gazprom.

Two onshore lines of the project carry gas from the receiving terminal inward.

Turkey's state-owned oil and gas trading company BOTAŞ constructed the 70-kilometer onshore line to connect to the Turkish grid. The 142-kilometer onshore line, to stretch to the Turkish-European border in the Thrace region, was built by a BOTAŞ-Gazprom joint venture.