Ankara hosted today a working meeting between Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Taner Yildiz, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Turkey.

The meeting participants addressed the cooperation deepening between Gazprom and Turkey in the gas sector. In particular, they considered the possibility of increasing the capacity of the Blue Stream gas pipeline from 16 to 19 billion cubic meters of gas a year. The parties agreed to examine this issue in detail. It was pointed out that the increase in capacity would not require laying additional strings of Blue Stream.

Blue Stream conveys over 50 per cent of all the Russian natural gas purchased by the Republic of Turkey. While securing uninterrupted gas supplies to Turkish consumers, the gas pipeline is also crucially important when additional gas volumes are urgently needed to replenish gas deficiency in case of emergency.

The meeting also addressed the South Stream gas pipeline. It was noted that the project was progressing following the approved route. The gas pipeline will considerably increase the reliability of gas supply to Europe.

Background

Turkeyis Gazprom's second largest sales market in Europe behind Germany. In 2013 Gazprom supplied Turkey with 26.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

Russian natural gas is supplied to Turkey via the Blue Stream gas pipeline and the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline.

The Blue Stream gas pipeline secures direct natural gas supply from Russia to Turkey via the Black Sea and considerably contributes to the Turkish gas market development.

South Stream is Gazprom's global infrastructure project aimed at constructing a gas pipeline with a capacity of 63 billion cubic meters across the Black Sea to Southern and Central Europe for the purpose of diversifying the natural gas export routes and eliminating transit risks. The first gas will be supplied via South Stream in late 2015. The gas pipeline will reach its full capacity in 2018.

The cooperation in the gas sector between Russia and Turkey commenced in 1984 when the Governments of the Republic of Turkey and the USSR signed the Agreement on Natural Gas Supply to Turkey.