Turkey yesterday gave the go-ahead for the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline in the waters of the Black Sea. This was announced by the Russian company Gazprom, which holds a majority stake in South Stream.
The go-ahead was given by Turkish Energy Minister Taner Tildiz during negotiations with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, as reported by the Moscow news agencies. The special purpose company set up to build the South Stream gas pipeline is owned not only by Gazprom, but also by Eni, by the French Edf and by the German Wintershall.
Turkey's consent significantly accelerates the definition of the project which, by cutting off Ukraine, could facilitate gas supplies to Europe but also make the Old Continent increasingly subordinate to Russia in terms of energy. The project, which is expected to be completed by 2015 and has a transport capacity of 63 million cubic meters of gas, is a direct competitor of the other pipeline called Nabucco.
