MOSCOW, June 23 (UPI) — Russian company Gazprom said it was issued a permit by the Turkish government to start survey work for the offshore section of the Turkish Stream pipeline.
“Turkey has issued a permit on engineering surveys for the offshore section of Turkish Stream,” the company said in a statement. “The document stipulates that investigations will be carried out within the exclusive economic zone and territorial waters of Turkey in order to place the first offshore string of the gas pipeline.”
The Kremlin said the Turkish gas project will help ensure European energy security. South Stream, a longer version of the pipeline, was envisioned as a European network before the Russian government pulled it off the table in late 2014.
Russia meets about a quarter of the natural gas needs for the European economy. The majority of that runs through the Soviet-era transit network in Ukraine, where lingering debt issues and ongoing conflict present risks to traditional energy routes.
Gazprom said the pipeline is designed in four sections stretching a total of 850 miles, more than half of which would follow the planned route for South Stream. The first string of the pipeline would feed only the Turkish market.
Russian officials in mid-December confirmed South Stream, touted as the answer to regional transit woes, was no longer viable as envisioned in 2007.
The Kremlin said members of the European community have already expressed interest in the Turkish project. European leaders, however, are wary of letting production companies like Gazprom control transit arteries, leaning in favor of a network of pipelines stretching from Azerbaijan.
Gazprom expects parts of the Turkish Stream project to be in service as early as next year.
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