Gazprom to Partner Turkey to Supply Gas

Moscow hosted today a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Taner Yildiz, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Turkey.

The meeting addressed the issues of strategic partnership, in particular, the prospects for cooperation deepening in natural gas supplies from Russia to Turkey. The parties noted that Turkey was among top consumers of Russian 'blue fuel' for many years and Russia, in its turn, was a reliable provider of natural gas for the Turkish economy, thus covering nearly 60 per cent of the country's total consumption.

The Blue Stream gas pipeline is important for ensuring stable gas supplies to Turkey. For instance, around 110 billion cubic meters of gas have been conveyed via Blue Stream since the start of commercial gas deliveries. The meeting participants stressed that Russian gas exports via that route were gradually increasing, and this upward trend could continue. In this regard, the parties confirmed their mutual intention to expand Blue Stream's capacity by 3 billion cubic meters.