Gas supplies via the Turkish Stream might begin on January 1, 2020, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told Rossiya-24 TV channel.
"As for the Turkish Stream, its construction is carried out according to the approved plans. As you know, intergovernmental agreement was signed between Russia and Turkey, a road map was approved and everything is on schedule, By January 1, 2020, it will be possible to supply gas via the Turkish stream using two lines," he said.
The minister stressed that Bulgaria and Austria are the priority directions for deliveries through the Turkish Stream. "Continuing one line should ensure gas supplies to the south-eastern part of Europe, to those countries that need gas. There are different route options. There is an option for Greece and Italy, there are options for gas supplies through Turkey to Bulgaria, then Serbia, Hungary and Austria," TASS cited him as saying.
"Currently the gas transportation infrastructure is expanding in these countries. Today, Bulgaria and Austria are surely priority directions for us," Novak added.
A senior analyst of 'Uralsib', Alexei Kokin, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza earlier, noted that the first line of the pipeline is protected from any political and economic upheavals, and sooner or later Gazprom and Europe will return to the issue of the second line. "Continuation of the pipeline to Europe is still on the agenda, although negotiations are not underway. There are problems associated with issues of how the second line will be implemented and under what conditions, but probably Gazprom will return to it in the future," the expert believes.
The executive vice-president of NewTech Services, professor of the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, Valery Bessel, in turn, noted that the progress of the project's construction suggests that its commissioning in the near future is guaranteed. "Like Nord Stream 2, this construction is primarily needed by our partners, in this case Turkey. Turkish companies will earn at the expense of the Turkish Stream at least three times more money than Gazprom," he noted.
In addition, the future of the Turkish Stream is guaranteed by the fact that Gazprom is the most reliable and largest supplier of cheap gas in the macro-region. “Europe has no place to take gas, its own reserves have decreased by 40% over the past 10 years. U.S. gas reserves, according to the latest BP data, are four times lower than in Russia. Iran, which has the same reserves as Gazprom, is shut down due to U.S. sanctions. Therefore, Europe does not have a real alternative to the Turkish stream and the Nord Stream 2," the professor of the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas stressed.
Turkish Stream is a natural gas pipeline currently under construction from Russia to Turkey. It would run from Russkaya compressor station near Anapa in Krasnodar Region across the Black Sea to Kıyıköy on the Turkish Thrace coast. The length of the sea part of the pipe exceeds 900 km. The first line will be intended for the Turkish market, the second - for gas supply to the countries of South and South-Eastern Europe. The capacity of each line reaches 15.75 bln cubic meters of gas per year. The first gas flow is expected to start in December 2019.
