Turkey and Russian gas giant Gazprom have begun studying potential entry points of a proposed gas pipeline, the Hurriyet Daily News reported.

In a recent helicopter trip, Turkey’s energy minister Taner Yildiz and Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller flew around the Black Sea coast, examining possible routes for the “Turkish Stream” natural gas pipeline.

The design of the pipeline – which would stretch from from Russia to Turkey - is underway, Turkey’s Russia envoy Umit Yardim told the Russian State Duma in Moscow earlier this month.

Late last year, Russia planned to route gas to Europe through European Union-member Bulgaria, bypassing Ukraine. But on the sudden orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the project was shelved, with gas sent to Turkey instead.

Speaking the Anadolu news agency, Miller said that the project would provide around 16 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas for Turkey’s own consumption, with the next step bringing more gas to the Turkish-Greek border.

Although few exact dates have been given, the “Turkish Stream” pipeline is expected to being flowing in Dec. 2016. Miller said that he did not expect any issues in the field of EU regulations.