Putin halts South Stream’s construction

Russian President Vladimir Putin on his state visit to Turkey said that the South Stream project will not be continued due to current circumstances. 

Putin said that, due to the fact that Russia has still has not received the permission from Bulgaria, it would be ridiculous to start the subsea construction only to stop at the Bulgarian shoreline.

“We are forced to reconsider our participation in this project,” Putin said at a news conference.

He further added that Russia will turn its attention to expanding the Blue Stream pipeline and building another pipeline in order to cover the growing needs of Turkish economy.

“If it is deemed expedient, we can build an additional gas hub for the South European consumers on Turkish territory, near the border with Greece,” added Putin.

In this regard, Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Mehmet Konuk, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Botas Petroleum Pipeline Corporation signed Memorandum of Understanding on constructing an offshore gas pipeline across the Black Sea towards Turkey. The pipeline would have a capacity of 63 billion cubic meters, with 14 billion cubic meters slated for Turkish consumers (identical amount is being delivered via the Balkan Corridor) and nearly 50 billion cubic meters conveyed to the border between Turkey and Greece, where a delivery point will be arranged, according to a Gazprom statement.

The Russkaya compressor station being under construction in the Krasnodar Territory will serve as the pipeline starting point.

LNG World News Staff; Image: kremlin.ru