Russia Actively Working to Establish Gas Hub in Turkiye

Wed Dec 28 2022
icon-facebook icon-twitter icon-whatsapp

Monitoring Desk

MOSCOW: Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said active work is underway to establish a gas hub in Turkiye. “Currently, active work is in progress with the countries participating in the implementation of the gas project and with consumers looking for Russian gas,’ the Russian minister said in an interview with the state-run TASS agency.

The minister said the European gas market remains ‘relevant’ for Russia. The minister maintained there are means for delivering additional volumes there, including through the Yamal-Europe pipeline, closed ‘based on political motives.

The TurkStream currently works at full capacity. The Ukrainian route supplies one-third of the volume to Europe, as stipulated in contracts, despite all contradictions, and deliveries of Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) to Europe grew to 19.4 billion this year.

Russian gas pipeline

To a question about the restoration of the Nord Stream gas pipelines that were blown up in the Baltic Sea, the Russian energy minister said it demands money and time, and the full assessment of such a possibility can only be made after the investigation’s end.

Novak named China, Uzbekistan, Turkiye, and Kazakhstan as possible consumers of the Russian pipeline gas. He added that there is also a deeper prospect’ of gas deliveries to Pakistan and Afghanistan either through Central Asian infrastructure or from the territory of Iran on a swap basis — a deal under which Russia will receive Iranian gas and, in exchange, supply energy to the north for Iranian consumers. Novak also said there is an agreement to increase supplies to Azerbaijan temporarily.

Novak termed sanctions a ‘de-facto ban’ for supplies of Russian energy reserves to Western countries. He said that many decisions, including the price cap on energy and oil, are made to get political profit and ‘trigger a deep, long-term destabilization, the crisis in Europe.’

Novak said Russia is building new logistics for transporting it’s oil and energy. Still, until it is settled, the European embargo may lead to a decline in oil production of 7-8 percent in 2023.

The energy minister thinks there may be some exceptions for oil and oil products deliveries in the European embargo. He noted that even Germany and Poland requested oil deliveries in 2023 without specifying the origin of the fuel. However, earlier German officials said they meant oil from Kazakhstan.

The minister said Russia did some preparatory work to resist sanctions — expanded possibilities of developed insurance companies and sea oil supplies. He also appreciated the transfer to payments in national currencies, adding that this practice stabilized the oil market.

icon-facebook icon-twitter icon-whatsapp