“With the Nord Stream pipelines to Germany out of action and gas transit through Ukraine set to expire in 2024, Gazprom had been studying Turkey—already connected to two major Russian pipelines—as a way back into Europe, which used to be its largest export market,” the article explains how the project was conceived.
“But after months of considering options, the company concluded it wasn’t viable and has largely halted the work, said people familiar with the matter.”
The decision means Gazprom will miss the chance to restore at least some of the gas supplies to Europe, which once brought in about $8 billion a month in revenue. Some company insiders expressed skepticism about the Turkish plan from the outset, according to the report.
Although Russian dictator Vladimir Putin had publicly supported the project in October, the plan always faced significant hurdles. Turkey lacks the extra capacity on an export pipeline to southern Europe, and Ankara was unwilling to allow Gazprom to jointly sell the gas—an arrangement that would have given Russia more control over the infrastructure.
The European Union is also pushing for a ban on importing Russian gas by the end of 2027.
“As Gazprom looked into details of the proposal, it increasingly lost interest. According to initial discussions, Turkey planned to market the gas delivered to the hub by itself, with Gazprom only acting as a supplier, people familiar with the talks said,” the report states.
“The Russian company was unwilling to give Turkey that much control, they said.”
Sources say Gazprom’s management stopped discussing the Turkish hub internally and in meetings with government officials some time ago.