Turkish Stream May Be Delayed Until ‘At Least 2017’, Officials Say

The timeframe for the construction of Gazprom’s Turkish Stream gas pipeline project seems unrealistic, according to government and industry officials in Turkey, Reuters has reported.

“The issue is not Turkish Stream alone, this is a whole package for Turkey's energy needs. We need to be a little bit patient," Energy Minister Taner Yildiz has told Reuters.

In December, Gazprom said the construction of the pipeline that would carry 63 billion cubic metres of Russian gas per year under the Black Sea to Turkey and then to a hub on the country’s border with Greece would be completed by the end of next year.

Turkish Stream was unveiled after Bulgaria froze Gazprom’s South Stream pipeline project last year over objections from the European Commission. South Stream would have carried the same amount of gas from Russia under the Black Sea to Bulgaria and further west to other EU member states.

Lengthy procedures for obtaining environmental approvals for the project, particularly ahead of June parliamentary elections, make it “very likely that [Turkish Stream] will be delayed to at least 2017”, a industry executive has opined.

Concerns about Turkey’s growing dependence on Russian energy are also playing a role. Russian gas delivered via existing pipelines accounted for over half of Turkey’s gas imports last year. Turkey is also seeking a bigger discount to the price of Russian gas supplies compared to the one agreed last month. 

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