Uğur Serhan Özcan
September 15, 2015•Update: September 15, 2015
ANKARA
The Turkish Stream gas pipeline to carry natural gas from Russia to Europe will be delayed, Gazprom said Monday.
Construction of the pipeline had been due to start in June but the Russian and Turkish governments have still to sign an agreement. The pipeline had been scheduled to open in late 2016.
“Due to the fact that the installation did not begin as planned, we are no longer speaking of December 2016,” Gazprom Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev told reporters in Moscow, according to the official Sputnik news agency.
The proposed pipeline - initiated after the South Stream line through Bulgaria to Europe was abandoned in December last year - will carry 63 billion cubic meters of gas a year under the Black Sea to Turkey and into southern Europe.
Turkey is due to receive 15.75 billion cubic meters annually. Last week, Sefa Sadik Aytekin, deputy undersecretary at Turkey's Energy Ministry, said a disagreement over gas prices led to discussions stalling.
The Russian Energy Ministry has said it expects an intergovernmental deal to be signed after a new government is formed in Turkey following November general election.
