Turkish Stream to start working by 2020

​Last week V. Putin and the President of Turkey, R. Erdogan, discussed the issues of realization of Turkish Stream. Both parties showed their interest in the project.

This pipeline is planned to be put into operation in 2019-2020. It will pump 63 bln cubic m a year of the Russian gas. Up to 15 bln cubic m of this volume will be shipped to Turkey, and this branch is to start its operation in 2016-2017. About 49 bln cubic m is planned to be pumped to the border of Turkey-Greece where a gas hub is planned to be constructed for further gas transportation to the Central-European region of the EU.

The Black Sea part of the route almost coincides with the route of the former South Stream in the water area of the Black Sea. Then at the Turkish coast a new “stream” turns to the border of Turkey –Greece. Later it is planned to ship gas by the pipeline systems of the Balkan countries to Europe but this issue will be specified with the EU. The expert of the Balkan energy market, T. Maldanov, thinks that a new pipeline can be extended to Macedonia and then to Serbia from the Greek-Turkish border. In March the construction of a connecting site Klechovtse-Negotino started in Macedonia.