Gazprom halts Turkey gas hub project — Bloomberg

Russia’s Gazprom has suspended work on a planned gas hub in Turkey, a project once seen as a way to regain some lost ground in the European energy market following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Russian President Vladimir Putin first floated the idea in October 2022, shortly after the Nord Stream pipeline explosions. He proposed building new pipelines under the Black Sea with a capacity of up to 55 billion cubic meters per year, claiming it would be a more economical and secure route to Europe.

However, the project made little progress. According to Bloomberg, Gazprom initially reacted with surprise and later concluded that the project was unfeasible due to economic and infrastructure constraints and disagreements over control of gas flows.

Turkey insisted from the start that it would handle gas sales from the hub independently, leaving Gazprom as a supplier, a condition Russia was unwilling to accept. Additionally, limited pipeline capacity through Bulgaria and Greece restricts the potential for creating a fully-fledged trading hub with its own price index.

Discussions about the project have largely stopped within Gazprom and between the company and the Russian government in recent months, Bloomberg said. The press services of Gazprom, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, and the Kremlin declined to comment.

A Turkish official told Bloomberg on condition of anonymity that Turkey remains open to cooperation but acknowledged the process has stalled. Turkey’s energy ministry and pipeline operator Botas also declined to comment.

N.Tebrizli