Turkey, Russia reach agreement on South Stream pipeline

[News_Editor]

Turkey, Russia reach agreement on South Stream pipeline

2011-12-29 08:42:34 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOSCOW (BNO NEWS) -- Turkey has approved the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline which is intended to carry Russian natural gas under the Black Sea to Europe, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced on Wednesday.

The South Stream pipeline is expected to transport up to 63 billion cubic meters of gas to central and southern Europe. Commercial gas deliveries are excepted to start at the end of 2015, according to Alexei Miller, the head of the Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom.

"I am pleased to note that our energy talks, which have been fairly strained and difficult, have yielded positive results," Putin said during a meeting with Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz. "I would especially like to thank the Turkish government for its decision to give its final authorisation to Gazprom to build the South Stream gas pipeline system on the Black Sea bed in Turkey's exclusive economic zone."

Putin said the accord will contribute to stable energy supplies to the European market. "This truly is a pan-European project," he noted. The prime minister added that Russia also agreed on long-term contracts for the delivery of gas to Turkey until 2021 and 2025, with a boost in gas supplies to Turkey by eight percent or 2 billion cubic meters in 2012.

The South Stream pipeline is an attempt to diversify Russian gas routes away from transit countries such as Ukraine. The neighboring ex-Soviet republic accounts for 80 percent of Russian gas transit to European Union nations but frequent rows with Moscow over gas prices have sometimes ended with Kiev switching the gas tap off in wintertime.

Miller said the construction of the South Stream pipeline will not affect the gas price formula for Ukraine or other countries.

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