Led by Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Company’s Management Committee a Gazprom delegation today paid a working visit to Turkey.

As part of the visit a meeting was held with Mehmet Hilmi Guler, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister. The parties discussed the prospects for the bilateral cooperation deepening with regard to Russian gas deliveries to Turkey.

Alexey Miller and Mehmet Hilmi Guler considered possibilities to promote the interaction between Gazprom and Turkish companies for the purpose of developing the gas transportation infrastructure. The discussion centered on the Blue Stream-2 project stipulating the construction of a new gas line running in parallel with the Blue Stream, a gas transmission infrastructure in Turkey and, later on, a submerged gas pipeline to Israel. The both sides agreed that the provisional techno-economic assessments proved the project’s technical feasibility and economic viability. Once a new Israeli Government is formed, the negotiations on Russian gas supply to this country will be resumed. The Turkish side, on its part, expressed its interest in provisioning of additional capacities of the Blue Stream-2 in order to supply gas to the Turkish market. From 2015 Turkey will need extra supplies of Russian gas.

The meeting discussed oil and power generation projects. In the near future these projects will be further developed by the working groups.

The meeting participants noted the importance of securing reliable and uninterrupted gas exports from Russia and highly evaluated the contribution of the Blue Stream gas pipeline to the reinforcement of Turkey’s energy security.

The Turkish side also expressed its gratitude to Gazprom for repeatedly and swiftly meeting Turkey’s requests for extra gas supplies.

Background:

The Russian-Turkish cooperation in the gas industry was initiated in 1984 when the Governments of the Turkish Republic and USSR entered into the Agreement on natural gas supplies to Turkey.

According to the provisional estimates, in 2008 Gazprom provided Turkey with 23.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas supplied via the two routes: the Transbalkan gas pipeline and the Blue Stream gas pipeline. Turkey became the second-largest gas consumer of Russian gas after Germany. Russian gas supplies to Turkey are rising at frenzied pace.

The Blue Stream gas pipeline is a supplement to the existing gas transmission corridor from Russia to Turkey via Ukraine, Moldavia, Romania and Bulgaria. Gas supplies via the Blue Stream pipeline substantially increase the reliability of gas supplies to Turkey and establish additional prerequisites for the country’s gas market and infrastructure development. In 2008 the Blue Stream pipeline conveyed 10.1 billion cubic meters of gas.

In December 2004 Gazprom and Turkish pipeline company Botas inked the Memorandum to develop cooperation in the gas sector. The Memorandum contemplates the possibility for Gazprom to supply gas right up to Turkish final customers directly or via its subsidiaries as well as to participate in gasification, gas distribution, UGS capacity development and gas-fired power generation projects in Turkey.