The Turkish Stream project is not a rival to the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) project, Turkish Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Sefa Sadik Aytekin, said.
He noted that the Turkish Stream, which is a precursor of the South Stream, differs from it.
According to the deputy minister, while in case of the South Stream additional volumes of Russian gas to Europe were considered, with Turkish Stream there are no plans for additional gas supplies.
He also said that regarding the Turkish Stream project, the issue is that Russia intends to sell gas to Europe not through Ukraine, but through Turkey from 2019. "Taking this into account, we can say with confidence that the Turkish Stream is neither an alternative, nor a rival to TANAP,” Sadik Aytekin explained.
The TANAP project envisages the transportation of gas of Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field from the Georgian-Turkish border to the western borders of Turkey. TANAP’s initial capacity is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Around six billion cubic meters of this gas will be delivered to Turkey and the rest of the volume to Europe.
He said that currently Ankara and Moscow are holding talks on the implementation of the Turkish Stream project, which has many unresolved technical issues. “Without resolving, we can’t say that the sides have reached a final agreement,” the deputy minister concluded.
