Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Gazprom, said that the launch of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline has been postponed to a later date. According to Medvedev, the shift happened due to the fact that the installation of the pipeline did not begin as planned, and the project cannot be completed in December 2016.
Besides, Gazprom has to settle the issue of using the pipe-laying ships, as their number is limited due to work specifics. Before launching the projects like the Turkish Stream and the Nord Stream-2, Gazprom needs to conclude contracts in order to obtain and operate the vessels.
Moreover, an intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Turkey on the transit pipeline has not been signed yet.
The abovementioned contract implied the construction of four threads of the pipeline with a capacity of 63 billion cubic meters of gas annually. However, now it is planned to lay only one thread which is efficient to meet just the demand of Turkey. This thread will have an annual capacity of over 16 billion cubic meters of gas.
