Gazprom has received
through diplomatic channels first permits from the authorities of Turkey for
the implementation of the Turkish Stream after it was decided to resume the
project this year, Russian gas holding said in a statement.
As a result of last week's
negotiations between Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and Turkish Minister of Energy
and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak the parties agreed to complete all the
necessary preparations for the start of the project as soon as possible.
"Reception of first
permits is positive news for Gazprom. This move of the Turkish side reflects
the Turkish government's interest in the project and indicates the transition
to its implementation," Miller said as quoted by the statement.
Earlier, Energy Minister
Alexander Novak said that signing a draft intergovernmental agreement on the
project is scheduled for October.
He also said that
construction of the Turkish Stream’s first line and explorations in territorial
waters of Turkey are expected to start the same months, after all required
permits are obtained.
Novak added the parties had
agreed to set up a working group to prepare the draft intergovernmental agreement
on the construction of at least one line along the bottom of the Black Sea to
Turkey.
Russia unveiled plans to
build the Turkish Stream as a replacement for the South Stream pipeline in
December 2014.
It was planned that the
marine section of the Turkish Stream will consist of four lines, each with the
capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters. The pipeline was to stretch by 660 km
along the old corridor of the South Stream and by 250 km - in the new corridor
in the direction of the European part of Turkey. The project’s total cost is
estimated at 11.4 bln euros, the cost of the first line is seem at 4.3 bln
euros.
It is expected that the gas
supplied via the first line will be entirely intended to meet the growing needs
of the Turkish market.
On December 1, 2014,
Gazprom and Turkey’s Botas signed a memorandum of understanding on construction
of the Turkish Stream with the capacity of 63 billion cubic meters of gas per
year. In 2015, Russia’s Energy Ministry Alexander Novak said that at the first
stage of construction would imply laying two lines of the pipeline.
(ITAR-TASS)