Russia’s Federation Council ratifies agreement on Turkish Stream pipeline construction

MOSCOW

Russia’s Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, approved a bill on an agreement between Russian and Turkish governments on the construction of the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline on Feb. 1, TASS News Agency has reported. 

According to Russian Deputy Energy Minister Yuri Sentyurin, who is Russia’s official representative in the project, the agreement “implies the creation of a favorable regulatory and legal framework, including tax and customs regulations, for design, construction and further service treatment of the gas pipeline.” 

He said the Turkish Stream was designed to deliver Russian gas to Turkey, as well as “to ensure that the Russian side fulfills all its commitments on Russian gas supplies to the territory of the states of the European Union after 2019,” as quoted by TASS. 

Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, ratified the agreement in January, while Turkey ratified the agreement late in 2016. 

In the intergovernmental agreement, two pipeline branches are planned, each with a capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters (bcm).

The first branch will supply gas directly to Turkey, while the second will be used to deliver gas to European countries through Turkey.