Gazprom starts building Turkish Stream pipeline – New route for export of Russian gas by the end of 2019

The Russian company Gazprom reported on Sunday, May 7, that it had started the works on the construction of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline between Russia and Turkey, which should also supply the European Union with gas and act as a symbolic project of reconciliation between Moscow and Ankara.

– The construction of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline has begun in the Black Sea, close to Russia's coasts – Gazprom announced.

– The realization of the project is going according to plan and Turkish and European consumers will be provided with a new secure route for the export of Russian gas by the end of 2019 – Alexey Miller, CEO of Gazprom said in the press release.

The project was presented to the public in late 2014 in the midst of the Ukrainian crisis, at the same time Russia gave up on the South Stream project, which was supposed to go across the Black Sea and Bulgaria, and which had been blocked by the European Union.

The Turkish Stream project kept being postponed because an agreement with the Turkish government couldn't be reached and was then suspended due to the diplomatic crisis which arose when the Turkish air forces shot down a Russian bomber over the Syrian-Turkish border in November 2015.

The project was reinitiated last summer, following the reconciliation between presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The plans envisage the construction of two branches with a capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas each, which will comprise the section at the bottom of the Black Sea. The intention is to increase the delivery of Russian gas to Turkey, but also for Turkey to become a transit country towards the European Union instead of Ukraine. The prospects of the pipeline are still uncertain, considering Brussels' reservations towards Russian gas projects, AFP reports.

Gazprom Moscow

Gazprom

Alexey Miller

Turkish Stream pipeline

import of Russian gas

transit of Russian gas