Gazprom Abandons Proposed Türkiye Gas Hub Project - Bloomberg

Gazprom has quietly abandoned plans for a gas hub in Türkiye, Orda.kz reports, citing Bloomberg.

The project was once seen as a potential way for Russia to regain part of its lost share in the European energy market after its invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg writes, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The idea to use Türkiye — a country already connected to Russia via two major gas pipelines — was proposed by Vladimir Putin in October 2022, shortly after the Nord Stream explosions. He suggested laying new pipelines along the bottom of the Black Sea, with a proposed capacity of up to 55 billion cubic meters per year, calling it a safer and more economically viable alternative for delivering gas to Europe.

However, the project never progressed. Initially surprising even Gazprom, the company later concluded it was unfeasible due to economic and infrastructure constraints, as well as disagreements over control of gas flows.

According to Bloomberg, Türkiye had insisted from the beginning that it would control gas sales through the hub, with Gazprom acting only as a supplier, terms the Russian side rejected.

Additionally, Türkiye lacks sufficient pipeline capacity to southern Europe via Bulgaria and Greece, limiting its potential as a full-scale trading platform with its pricing index.

Despite Putin’s public endorsement of the idea, including at a 2023 meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, it became evident by the end of that year that Russia had scaled back its ambitions. Putin later stated that building large storage facilities for Russian gas in Türkiye was not under consideration, although such facilities are essential for a gas hub.

In recent months, Gazprom reportedly stopped discussing the project both internally and with Russian officials. 

A Turkish official told Bloomberg, on condition of anonymity, that Türkiye is still open to cooperation but acknowledges the delays.

The press offices of Gazprom, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, the Kremlin, and the Turkish Energy Ministry and pipeline operator Botas declined to comment for Bloomberg.