TurkStream Natural Gas Pipeline, which will carry Russian natural gas to Türkiye and to Europe through Türkiye, was launched with an inauguration ceremony.

TurkStream Natural Gas Pipeline Inauguration Ceremony held at Haliç Congress Center on January 8, 2020 was attended by the President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, the President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov.

“Our Target is to Turn Our Country into One of the Global Energy Centers”

In his speech at the TurkStream Project Inauguration Ceremony, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated that the project was completed over the past year as targeted, and it was being inaugurated. “Thanks to the Project, 15.75 billion cubic meters of natural gas out of 31.5 billion cubic meter will directly arrive in our country. Accordingly, we will meet the annual natural gas need of 15 million households.” he added.

“Our target is to turn our country into one of the global energy centers” said President Erdoğan, also noting that among the OECD member states, Türkiye is the 10th country with the largest energy market and all of Türkiye’s 81 provinces were supplied with natural gas.

“Our Cooperation in the Energy Field has Successfully Overcome All Kinds of Tests”

Pointing to the fact that 53 million citizens in Türkiye are actively using natural gas and with the infrastructure investments being made, this number is increasing each passing day, the President Erdoğan continued his words as follows:

“In the past 33 years, we have procured approximately 400 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russian Federation. This picture is the best example of a win-win based cooperation built on the mutual interest of our countries. Our cooperation in the field of energy, as in other fields, has successfully passed all kinds of tests. As Türkiye and Russia, we will continue with news projects and new successes on the ground of this cooperation. We see that European countries show great interest in Russian gas coming from the second line within the scope of the project.”

“TurkStream is a Very Special and Unique Gas Transportation System”

The Russian President Vladimir Putin in his speech at the ceremony said:

“The cooperation between Russia and Türkiye is developing step by step in all fields. Despite the extremely difficult situation in the world, and despite the fact that some international players are trying to hinder our cooperation developing in the direction mutual benefit, these efforts are continuing.”

As the Russian President Putin said that the implementation of this large-scale joint project and the successful laying of the natural gas pipeline from the bottom of the Black Sea is an indication that Russian-Turkish strategic partnership bears significant and concrete fruits, he also pointed out that TurkStream is an extremely special and unique gas transportation system.

The Russian President said that with TurkStream, natural gas from Western Siberian fields will come with the first line, and with the second line the gas will be transported over Türkiye to the Balkans, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia.

Putin also noted that TurkStream Natural Gas Pipeline is environment-friendly and it will be operated reliably; he stated that with more than 6 kilometers of pipe laying per day, the project broke a record in this subject and he thanked those who contributed.

“TurkStream: The New Symbol of Cooperation between Türkiye and Russia”

In his speech during the TurkStream Inauguration Ceremony the Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez reminded that the off-shore section of the project which is the new symbol of the cooperation between Türkiye and Russia was completed last year. 

Minister Dönmez emphasized that with the project, approximately 31.5 billion cubic meters of gas will be transported annually, 15.75 billion cubic meters of which will stay in Türkiye while the rest will go to Europe over Türkiye. 

Dönmez said: “We are all proud of finalizing TurkStream. TurkStream is a strategic project which contributes to the stability of our region and brings sustainability to the international energy markets, a historical signature deep into the Black Sea. The project is a visionary project which will provide a significant contribution to the natural gas supply security of our country and Europe."

Dönmez also noted: "The construction of receiving terminals, shore crossing, 930 km of offshore section, 70 km of first onshore section and 140 km of second onshore section were all completed before the planned schedule and made ready for gas flow. During the construction of the project, 98 percent of the materials used in onshore construction were procured from the domestic producers for the purpose of encouraging domestic and national production. We have completed the onshore section of TurkStream in less than a year and got the valves ready for opening. TurkStream will eliminate transit risks by rendering our country the first recipient of natural gas. In this way, we will have made a significant progress towards an energy sector which is minimally affected by political turmoil and instability. We will also expand our system flexibility by launching a new supply line. "

Following the speeches, Oleg Aksyutin, Vice Chairman of Gazprom at Russkaya Compressor Station, and Burhan Özcan, General Manager of BOTAŞ at Kıyıköy Receiving Terminal, were connected via video conferencing. Aksyutin and Özcan gave information about the project.

“A Sign of Perseverance, Determination, Vigor and Dedication: TurkStream”

BOTAŞ General Manager Burhan Özcan said: “Mr. President, as BOTAŞ, by commissioning both TurkStream and TANAP projects before their planned times in the last one year, we are enjoying the happiness and excitement of fulfilling our promise to you and providing uninterrupted service to our beloved nation. With only these two projects, we have earned a capacity of 62 billion cubic meters to our country and Europe.” Burhan Özcan also emphasized that the fact that the project was realized with a domesticity rate exceeding 98% in engineering, equipment production and construction, which was a proud occasion in terms of the point the industry of our country has reached.

BOTAŞ General Manager Burhan Özcan continued his words as follows:

“We have completed the engineering works, expropriation procedures, EIA reports, transit permits, procurement of all the equipment, the construction and the testing of the pipelines, which are over 210 kilometers of pipeline with a diameter of 120 centimeters, in less than one year.  In fact, we have reached a record that is difficult to break by completing the production of the line reaching Europe in 5 months. I wish this project, which is a sign of perseverance, determination, vigor and dedication, will be auspicious for our country, our nation and all humanity.”

After the live video connections, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay, Speaker of the Parliament Mustafa Şentop, former Speakers of Parliament İsmail Kahraman and Binali Yıldırım, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Dönmez, the Minister of Treasury and Finance Berat Albayrak, the Russian Minister of Energy Aleksandr Novak, former Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yıldız, and Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller were on stage during the inauguration.

The natural gas supply via TurkStream started as Erdoğan, Putin, Vucic and Borisov opened the symbolic valve.  Meanwhile, natural gas flow animation was displayed on the screen.

After the inauguration, President Erdoğan had family photo taken with the guest heads of state and government.

Tarih: 15/1/2020