By Furkan Naci Top & Gurkan Abay
ISTANBUL
Progress on the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline project was complicated with Gazprom's "manipulative" announcement of a deal made between them and Ankara on Thursday, said head of energy systems engineering department at Kadir Has University in Istanbul.
Gazprom, the state-run Russian natural gas company, announced Thursday that an agreement with Turkey was reached over the Turkish Stream following a meeting between Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz, and Gazprom's head, Alexey Miller.
"An agreement was reached to commission and start gas supplies via the Turkish Stream in December 2016," said Miller in Thursday's official statement.
Turkish side has yet to announce an agreement was reached in the talks.
"Turkey should designate its terms officially. Otherwise, it could get harmed during the process," Volkan Ediger from Kadir Has University told Anadolu Agency who claimed the progress of talks on the deal were being manipulated by Gazprom's statements.
In Dec. 2014, Russia's Vladimir Putin announced the scrapping of the South Stream pipeline project due to a disagreement between Moscow and the European Union countries. Putin proposed a new route to deliver the gas to Europe through Turkey which was dubbed the "Turkish Stream."
Chairman of Petform Gas Group, Arif Akturk, said it is technically possible to finish construction within the agreed timeframe prior to 2016 because part of the construction through the Black Sea can be finished within six months. However, the project's construction cannot begin prior to an agreement between the governments.
Gazprom, on the other hand announced that construction of the pipeline will be completed and that gas will flow by December 2016.
The capacity of the 1,100 kilometer-long Turkish Stream is planned to have 63 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas per year. While 47 bcm of it will reach the Turkish-Greek border, the remaining 16 bcm is designated for Turkey's domestic use.
