/ world today news/ Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak confirmed the end of “South Stream”.
“This project has been stopped and today there are no negotiations or actions (on it). We always communicate with Bulgaria in different formats,” he told journalists in Moscow.
At the same time, Novak stated that Russia is ready to implement the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project, provided that the European and Turkish partners show interest.
“On the agenda, I think, Turkish Stream is also possible. I know that both the European Commission and the energy ministers of the European countries are working on this issue. From our side, we are ready to implement this project if our European and Turkish partners show interest,” he said in an interview with “Vesti” television.
For the Kremlin, such a project does not exist
South Stream negotiations have been suspended. There is no basis for their resumption. This was stated on January 12 by Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, quoted by Interfax.
“At the moment, such a project does not exist. It was terminated. Therefore, there is no subject for negotiations,” said Peskov. This is how he commented on the information that appeared on January 11 in the Bulgarian media that Russia may resume negotiations on the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline, after the negotiations on another gas project – Turkish Stream – were terminated.
Earlier, Bulgarian media reported that work on the South Stream project will be resumed in the next few weeks. According to her, “Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov received similar signals from Russia.” She notes that the project for the construction of the gas pipeline will most likely become one of the items on the agenda of the meeting of the Russian-Bulgarian intergovernmental commission on trade, economic and scientific cooperation, which will be held at the end of January in Sofia after 5 -annual break.
On the same day, January 11, the Russian Ministry of Energy reacted to this rumor. His representative commented to TASS that the status of the South Stream gas pipeline project remains unchanged, it has been suspended. “Its status remains unchanged, the project has been stopped,” said the representative of the ministry.
On the occasion of what was written in the Bulgarian media, Gazprom told BGNES that they could not comment on it because “intergovernmental contacts between Bulgaria and Russia are not within the company’s competence.”
The South Stream Project
The South Stream gas pipeline project was one of the largest energy projects in the European Union. Its sea section was supposed to start near the city of Anapa, on the Russian Black Sea coast, pass through the exclusive economic zone of Turkey in the Black Sea and come out on the Bulgarian coast near the city of Varna. Its length is about 931 km. At the exit of “South Stream” on the Bulgarian coast, it had to be connected to the onshore section of the gas pipeline, through which the further transfer of gas through the territory of Bulgaria to the countries of South-Eastern and Central Europe would take place.
The operation of the pipeline was expected to start in early 2016, when the first quantities of gas would flow. At full capacity, the four pipelines were to deliver 63 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.
“South Stream” is not a Russian venture, as is often believed. This is an international project with the participation of the leading European energy giants. In it, Gazprom owned 50%, and the Italian ENI – 20%. The French “Electrites de France” and the German “Wintershall” (part of BASF) each held 15%.
Investments in the amount of several billion euros were necessary for the implementation of the offshore gas pipeline project across the Black Sea. The exact price was to be determined after the design was completed, based on the results of the main tenders held for the supply of pipes, coating, pipe laying and logistics. One of the figures mentioned is €15.5 billion.
After the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis in the spring of 2014, the international situation became more complicated and unfavorable for the realization of the gas pipeline.
On December 1, 2014, during his visit to Ankara, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow was suspending the South Stream project. “In view of the fact that we have not yet received permission from Bulgaria, we believe that under these conditions, Russia cannot continue the implementation of this project. We cannot start the construction of the sea section until we receive the permission from Bulgaria.” the owner of the Kremlin said then.
For his part, the president of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, announced that the South Stream project is no longer relevant. In December 2014, the Italian company Saipem, which is part of ENI – the Italian partner of Gazprom, was notified of the suspension of ” South Stream’.
Instead, the Russian side proposed to Turkey to build the Turkish Stream gas pipeline along the bottom of the Black Sea with the same capacity of 63 billion cubic meters. gas like South Stream had. The initiative also provided for the construction of a gas hub on the Turkish-Greek border, from where all interested parties will be able to buy “blue fuel” on market terms.
In early December 2015, Russia announced that the TurkStream gas pipeline project had been suspended. This happened after the Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber in the skies over Syria. This act by Ankara caused the biggest crisis in bilateral Russian-Turkish relations in decades.
Moscow / Russia
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