Publication

This paper discusses Russia's proposal to build a major new pipeline, known as Turkish Stream, to carry gas to customers in Turkey and the EU. The author contends that the project is controversial in two ways: 1) it is intended to help Russia's Gazprom fulfil its intention of terminating gas exports to Europe via Ukraine, and 2) it is unclear if the EU would accept delivery of gas at Turkey's border with Greece in place of current deliveries to locations in Centreal Europe. He argues that for these reasons, what Gazprom does in terms of implementing Turkish Stream has profound significance for European energy security. He also highlights that Turkish Stream could have a significant impact on the prospects for pipelines that are being developed to supply gas from Azerbaijan to Europe. (Note: This paper was written before the July 9, 2015 disclosure that Gazprom had cancelled the contract with Italy’s Saipem for laying the first string of Turkish Stream.)