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Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a plan for a European gas hub in Turkey to shift gas supplies intended for the damaged Nord Stream pipelines to the Black Sea, reported Reuters.
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The proposal to build more subsea natural gas pipelines to Turkey comes following a recent discovery of gas leaks in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that are intended for the supply of Russian natural gas to Germany.
Putin was quoted by Bloomberg News as saying: “We could transfer to the Black Sea the lost Nord Stream volumes that used to be transited across the Baltic Sea.”
Putin said the new Black Sea links to Turkey could become the main Russian gas-export route for Europe.
Putin added: “It’s economically viable, and considering the recent events, the security level there is significantly higher.”
With the halt of gas flow via the Nord Stream pipelines, Russia has only two operating routes for Europe- via one line of the TurkStream link under the Black Sea that runs towards Turkey, and another through Ukraine.
Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said the firm is ready to build additional gas links under the Black Sea toward Turkey.
Miller also recommended creating a gas trading hub on the EU-Turkish border.
Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez was quoted by tass.com as saying during the Russian Energy Week forum that Putin’s proposal to create a gas hub in Turkey is realistic and can be implemented.
Donmez added: “This proposal of Russian President Vladimir Putin must be comprehensively discussed. But, I will say that it can be implemented. Russia has already implemented successful infrastructure projects before.
Investigation is being carried out into the gas leak from the Nord Stream pipelines into the Baltic Sea, off the coasts of Denmark and Sweden.
