The Russian company Gazprom has supplied the first billion cubic meters of natural gas via the new pipes of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline. Commercial deliveries through the recently constructed pipeline started on January 1. However, Presidents of Russia and Turkey held the official opening ceremony of the Turkish Stream in Istanbul on January 8. In total, the first billion cubic meters of natural gas was distributed as follows: about 54 percent was delivered to the Turkish gas market, while the remaining 46 percent - to the Turkish-Bulgarian border. The pipeline consists of two strings. One is intended for the supply of Russian gas to Turkish consumers, while the other is delivering gas to consumers in Southern and Southeast Europe. Its total capacity is 31 billion cubic meters of gas. However, according to industry experts, the Turkish Stream gas pipeline is unlikely to operate at full capacity. Its maximum throughput capacity implies the supply of more than 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas per month. Indeed, Turkey is one of the largest consumers of Russian gas, but it will hardly be able to handle such volumes in the light of a number of circumstances. Currently, natural gas is exported to the Republic via the Blue Stream Pipeline and the Trans-Balkan Pipeline.
