Nord Stream

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Nov. 25 that Russia may consider cancelling some important joint projects with Turkey after the downing of the Russian jet by Turkish F-16s near the Syrian border on Nov. 24, raising questions about the future of the countries' intimate economic and trade relations. 

Sofia and Bratislava will push for Nord Stream II and South Stream gas pipeline projects to be put on an equal footing by the EU Commission, Bulgarian Deputy PM Meglena Kuneva has said.

The Bulgarian National Radio quotes her as saying an EU Summit scheduled for December is have gas pipeline projects as part of its agenda.

A planned "Nord Stream 2" pipeline will hurt the EU's security and help Russia control the bloc's energy markets, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk opined on Thursday.

He called on the EU Commission "to seriously get into the issue" and prevent Russia from facilitating "a bottleneck".

Gazprom has declined to provide Turkey with an additional 3 billion cubic meters of gas via the existing Blue Stream pipeline, chief executive Alexei Miller said on Oct. 8, as reported by Reuters.

Political factors will not affect the agreement between Russia and Turkey over the proposed Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller vowed on Oct. 7.

Miller was speaking after Russian jets violated Turkish air space over the weekend and Moscow was accused of bombing Syrian opposition groups supported by Turkey and the West.

The spillover from a serious military confrontation between Russia and Turkey was exposed immediately, almost within hours. The first, entirely expected impact was seen in the field of energy as Russia?s Gazprom announced that it would cut the capacity of the planned Turkish Stream pipeline, which will carry gas from Russia to Europe through Turkey and Greece, by half. 

Gazprom has almost halved the planned capacity of its Turkish Stream gas pipeline project to 32 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year from an original capacity of 63 bcm, Gazprom Chief Executive Officer Alexei Miller said on Oct. 6.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak has said construction of the so-called Turkish Stream gas pipeline might begin later than planned.

There is a risk not to start building the pipeline's first section on schedule the intergovernmental agreement is not signed in time, Novak is quoted by RIA Novosti as saying.

Serbia faces new worries about its gas supply after Russia's Gazprom on July 8 said it had canceled a contract with Italy's Saipem to build the first section of the Turkish Stream Pipeline under the Black Sea.

South Stream Transport, Gazprom's subsidiary, said it would soon start negotiations with new potential contractors.

Gazprom has told pipeline makers to suspend deliveries of pipes for expanding Russia?s network to be connected to the proposed Turkish Stream project, an industry source said on July 6.

The delay is another snag in Moscow?s plans to build a gas pipeline via the Black Sea to Turkey, and on to south Europe in order to bypass Ukraine.