...

How much Turkish is the 'Turkish Stream'?

Oil&Gas Materials 27 April 2015 22:00 (UTC +04:00)
The political interests of the countries don’t always coincide with their energy interests, and Russia is a clear example of that.
How much Turkish is the 'Turkish Stream'?

Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 27

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

The political interests of the countries don't always coincide with their energy interests, and Russia is a clear example of that.

Russia gives importance to the implementation of the 'Turkish Stream' gas pipeline project, but at the same time, Moscow doesn't take into account Ankara's political and energy interests.

Since the day when Russia announced its intention to realize the 'Turkish Stream' as an alternative to Azerbaijan's TANAP, there has been no doubt that the Russian project isn't able to compete with that of Azerbaijan.

To understand the difference between TANAP and 'Turkish Stream', it is necessary to know all the pros and cons of these two projects.

In contrast to the 'Turkish Stream', TANAP has no questionable issues. TANAP's route has been clearly defined, while Russia and Turkey have not yet agreed on a final route for the 'Turkish Stream".

Second, the real actions have been already taken for the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline construction. In particular, the TANAP foundation was laid in the Turkish province of Kars on March 17.

Moreover, the EU appreciates the TANAP project implementation.

There is also a shareholder agreement signed between BP and TANAP consortium. According to this agreement, the British company will become part of the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline shareholders.

Turkish Stream still could not attract significant attention.

It should be stressed that Turkish Botas company will participate in the TANAP construction. This is in the interests of Turkey and the company itself, which is now completely isolated from the Turkish Stream construction.

Earlier, Russia said that Gazprom Russkaya would deal with the Turkish Stream construction. This lead to Botas issuing a statement in which it stressed that its isolation from the Turkish Stream construction was detrimental to the interests of both Turkey and the company itself.

TANAP will not only ensure Europe's energy security, but also promote the development of the regions where this pipeline will run. By the way, Turkish officials have repeatedly emphasized this.

However, in the case of implementation of the Turkish Stream project, which in fact is not an energy project, but a political one, Turkey will benefit only from gas transportation.

In one word, Ankara will not be able to control the gas that will be transported through its territory.

All the more so, BOTAS intends to link the Turkish Stream to Turkey's gas supply system in order to ensure the supply of Russian gas to the country's market. However, the loss of control over the gas doesn't meet the interests of Turkey, which intends to eventually become the region's energy center.

So, there is no doubt that Ankara will not renounce its own interests in favor of Russia, all the more so, in the project that is not Turkish at all.

Edited by CN

---

Rufiz Hafizoglu is the head of Trend Agency's Arabic news service, follow him on Twitter: @rhafizoglu

Tags:
Latest

Latest