File photo
Serbia is ready to join the TurkStream pipeline project, Serbia’s minister of mines and energy said on Friday.
"The possibility of 10 to 15 billion cubic meters of Russian gas from Turkey going on to Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, and Austria is a serious chance to improve energy security,” Aleksandar Antic told a two-day Eurasian Energy Security Forum in Serbia’s capital Belgrade.
“This will open up the possibility of developing gas and gas industries."
Russian energy giant Gazprom is planning to start the construction of the overland section of the TurkStream second gas pipeline in 2019, Gazprom’s deputy chairman announced Thursday.Alexander Medvedev, speaking to the Gazprom corporate magazine, said the company aims to transfer a record volume of 200 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas by the end of this year, up from the 148.2 bcm exported in the first nine months of 2018."The construction of the offshore section of the second transit line of TurkStream is in full swing. Completion of the deepwater laying will be completed soon," Medvedev said."Next year, we also plan to begin construction of the land section of the transit line in Turkey. Currently, Gazprom is negotiating with the Turkish company BOTAS. TurkStream is scheduled to go into operation in December 2019," he added.The TurkStream project is an export gas pipeline, which will not only span across the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey but will further extend to Turkey's borders with neighboring countries.TurkStream's first line will carry 15.75 bcm of natural gas to Turkey. The project will have a capacity of 31.5 bcm with the second line that will go to Europe.
Gazprom to build TurkStream's 2nd land section in 2019
Antic said construction of the pipeline will soon be completed, and Serbia joining the project would be a great opportunity for improving energy security for both the nation and the region.
Serbia is ready for this opportunity, but it will need its "neighbors of Bulgaria and Hungary" to do so, he added.
Separately, Peter Sijarto, Hungary’s foreign and trade minister, said he sees no reason why the TurkStream could not continue towards Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary, also asking why the European Union has criticized the project.
The TurkStream project is an export gas pipeline set to cross beneath the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey and also further extend to Turkey's borders with neighboring countries.
TurkStream's first line is set to carry 15.75 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas to Turkey. The project will have a capacity of 31.5 bcm with a second line that will go to Europe.