Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom has turned down involvement by Turkish private companies in a $40 billion gas deal, Turkish Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) officials told Today’s Zaman.
According to the officials, who wish to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to speak to the media, Gazprom had said the South Stream gas purchase deal is an intergovernmental agreement and cannot be expanded to include private buyers. BOTAŞ had previously announced that 6 billion of the 16 billion cubic meters of Russian gas mentioned in the agreement would be transferred to private Turkish companies, but said the willing firms needed to first receive what is known as the Seller’s Consent Protocol (SCP) from Gazprom, reports Today's Zaman.