<article><p class="lead">Russia's state-controlled Gazprom could delay the start of its proposed Turkish Stream pipeline because of the political situation in Turkey, Gazprom deputy chief executive Alexander Medvedev said today. Turkey's caretaker administration cannot sign the intergovernmental agreement regarding the first 15.75bn m³/yr leg of the pipeline, which Gazprom had previously planned to commission by December 2016, Medvedev said.</p><p>Turkey will hold a parliamentary election on 1 November but the formation of a new government and appointment of a new energy minister may not be swift, given the internal political rifts and worsening security situation in the country since the breakdown of the peace process with Kurdish militant group PKK.</p><p>Medvedev does not say when he now expects the pipeline to start operations.</p><p>Gazprom and Russia's energy ministry raised the subject of Turkish Stream at a meeting with the European Commission on 11 September. Russia told the commission that the future of three other planned Turkish Stream legs would depend on gas demand in Europe.</p><p>Initially Gazprom had planned to build four Turkish Stream legs with combined capacity of 63bn m³/yr. But eventually Gazprom forwarded Turkey an intergovernmental agreement only for the first 15.75bn m³/yr leg, which is intended to deliver gas only to Turkey.</p><p>The Turkish Stream project is bound up with Gazprom's price discount negotiations with Turkish state-owned gas company Botas. A previously agreed 10.25pc discount has not been finally agreed between the two sides, and Botas reserves the right to open arbitration proceedings.</p><p>ak/asr/gb</p></article>
