Russia, Turkey Ink TurkStream Agreement

The Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Turkish Republic have signed an agreement on the TurkStream project in Istanbul on Monday.

The document provides for the construction of two strings of the gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey across the Black Sea, as well as an onshore string for gas transit to Turkey’s border with neighboring countries.

“The document signed today is extremely important as it sets out the legal framework for the TurkStream project. The agreement has been prepared in an unprecedentedly short period of time, which shows the strong commitment of both sides to deliver the project as soon as possible.

“This is entirely understandable because the TurkStream gas pipeline will substantially enhance the reliability of gas supply to Turkey, as well as southern and southeastern Europe,” said Alexey Miller, chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee.

The pipeline will run 660 kilometers along the old route of South Stream and cover 250 kilometers of a new route toward the European part of Turkey. It is planned that the first string with the capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters will be used exclusively for gas supplies to the Turkish market.

In September 2016, Gazprom received a number of permits for the project from the Turkish authorities, including the first construction permit for the offshore section and the survey permit for the two strings of the offshore gas pipeline in Turkey’s exclusive economic zone and territorial waters.