Russia Tries to Maintain Grip on Europe, Mulls Increased Supplies to Turkey
The strange love triangle between Russia, Europe and Turkey continues, with Gazprom looking for ways to increase its clout in Turkey while maintaining its business ties with Europe.
Gazprom said on Tuesday that the Nord Stream and the South Stream would secure European gas needs.
‘In this situation the buildup of gas supplies to Europe, inter alia, through Nord Stream and South Stream, as well as LNG projects in the Baltic Sea and the Far East will allow Gazprom not only meeting the high demand of European consumers, but also securing additional Russian gas amounts for the premium Asia-Pacific market,’ reads a press release published on Gazprom’s website on Tuesday.
Coherently, Gazprom’s CEO Alexei Miller met OMV’s CEO Gerhard Roiss on Tuesday. The two companies said they consolidated their partnership.
"In Europe we live in a society with shared resources, products and services. With this in mind, I believe that the economic integration of Europe and our partners in Russia is the way to preserve the stability of our continent. Today’s meeting underlines our partnership with Gazprom, which has been in place for more than 50 years," OMV CEO Gerhard Roiss said in a note released on Tuesday.
On the other hand, the UK seems the most outspoken European country in its opposition to the Kremlin. Energy Secretary Ed Davey said Britain would use the coming meeting of the G7 group to promote a global plan to reduce dependence on Russian gas.
At the same time, Russia’s Gazprom and Turkey agreed to consider the possibility of increasing the capacity of the Blue Stream gas pipeline from 16 to 19 billion cubic meters of gas a year, during a meeting between Gazprom’s Alexander Medvedev and Taner Yildiz, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Turkey.
‘The parties agreed to examine this issue in detail. It was pointed out that the increase in capacity would not require laying additional strings of Blue Stream,’ reads a note released by Gazprom on Monday.
As said in recent stories, Moscow and Ankara could finally meet halfway after years of hypothesized convergences.
‘The meeting also addressed the South Stream gas pipeline. It was noted that the project was progressing following the approved route. The gas pipeline will considerably increase the reliability of gas supply to Europe,’ said Gazprom in the press release.