Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 8
By Anakhanum Khidayatova - Trend:
The Turkish Stream project is currently at an impasse, Igor Ponomarenko, the Russian political analyst, Ph.D., the member of the "Russian network intelligence" expert community, told Trend Oct. 8.
"An intergovernmental agreement has not been signed yet," he said. "The start date of the operations has been disrupted. The contract with the contractor - Italian Saipem for the construction of the first branch of the pipeline has been dissolved. These are stubborn facts."
"One part of the widely advertised project with a capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters for supplying gas only to Turkey will likely to remain," he said. "Its construction and introduction is now hampered by an unresolved dispute about a discount on gas (10.25 percent) for the Turkish BOTAS.
The expert said that Turkey's interest in this project was initially exaggerated.
"Ankara has no plans to become a "gas energy center" through this project in the near future," he said. "It considers the Turkish Stream as an opportunity to ensure uninterrupted supplies of Russian gas at a reasonable price to Thrace and nothing more. TANAP project is a priority for Turkey."
The Turkish Stream project includes the construction of a gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey via the Black Sea. It was assumed that the gas pipeline would consist of four branches at 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas each. The gas of the first branch is completely designed for the Turkish market. The rest amount will be supplied to the Turkish-Greek border, where it is planned to create a gas hub. The construction was planned to begin in June, but the project is still being discussed.
Edited by CN
follow the author on Twitter:@Anahanum