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1 1 (February 5, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govcade0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF.ri E.$~ & Updated February 5, 2020 TurkStream: Russia's Newest Gas Pipeline to Europe Russia's state-owned natural gas company Gazprom has long sought to protect its share of Europe's natural gas market. Along with the controversial Nord Stream 2 project (see CRS In Focus IF11138, Nord Stream 2: A Fait Accompli?), Gazprom's TurkStream project could strengthen Russia's foothold in the European energy market, especially southern Europe. It also could cement Turkey's status as a lead recipient of Russian gas, at a time of relatively strong Turkish-Russian relations. Opponents of the TurkStream project, including the Trump Administration and some Members of Congress, have expressed concern that the project could also help erode Ukraine's transit role for natural gas. In 2018, Gazprom supplied more than 40% of the EU's natural gas imports and about 50% of Turkey's. Many analysts maintain that Moscow could use its energy exports as leverage in countries that are dependent upon Russian natural gas. The United States, in turn, has long supported projects to diversify natural gas supplies to Europe and undercut Russia's market dominance. Turkey is Russia's largest non-EU natural gas export market. Russia has exported natural gas to Turkey through several pipelines (see Figure 1). The north-south Trans- Balkan Pipeline (TBP), completed in the late 1980s, transported Russian gas to Turkey until January 2020 (see below). From Ukraine, TBP crosses Moldova, Romania, and Bulgaria. In addition to transporting gas to these countries and Turkey, TBP also was a route for Russian gas supplies to North Macedonia and Greece. The Blue Stream pipeline, which became operational in 2003, is a joint project between Gazprom and Italy's Eni that crosses the Black Sea and makes landfall in central Turkey. The TurkStream project arose after the 2014 cancellation of Russia's South Stream project, a Gazprom-led venture that would have transported Russian natural gas across the Black Sea to Bulgaria and further into Europe. It was also viewed as a counter to the Western-backed Nabucco pipeline proposal. The South Stream project collapsed, however, in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and amid a dispute between Gazprom and the EU involving EU regulatory demands. In December 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the cancellation of South Stream as Gazprom signed a Memorandum of Understanding with BOTA$ Petroleum Pipeline Corporation, a Turkish state- owned company, to construct TurkStream. The TurkStream project is to consist of two parallel pipelines with a total capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters (BCM) per year (15.75 BCM each). The pipelines enter the water in Anapa, Russia, and make landfall in Kiyikoy, close to Turkey's border with Bulgaria. The first pipeline supplies natural gas to Turkey. The second pipeline, for which onshore construction continues, is intended to deliver gas to European markets. For information on Turkey's status as a regional energy transport hub, see CRS Report R41368, Turkey: Background and U.S. Relations, by Jim Zanotti and Clayton Thomas. Many analysts view TurkStream as a counter to the U.S.- backed Southern Gas Corridor project, which is to transport natural gas from Azerbaijan to Europe. The Southern Gas Corridor, in its present form, includes three connecting pipelines with an annual capacity of 16 BCM-roughly half the proposed capacity of TurkStream: the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) in Azerbaijan and Georgia; the Trans- Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) through Turkey; and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), currently under construction from Greece to Italy, via Albania. First delivery through TANAP to Turkey was in June 2018, and TAP is scheduled to begin operations in 2020. Turkey has contracted for 6 BCM from TANAP, and 10 BCM will continue on to Italy. TurkStream's subsea portion was completed in November 2018, and the Kiyikoy receiving terminal was completed in 2019. On January 8, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan officially inaugurated TurkStream. Figure I. Southeastern European Gas Infrastructure Exisint Pi~kie Cv' Opra r~p c! Source: Created by CRS using data from U.S. Department of State, HIS, ESRI, European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas, Bulgartransgaz. The second TurkStream line is to transport Russian natural gas from the Turkish landing point to southeastern and central European markets via Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary. The European extension (also referred to as TurkStream 2) is to comprise new and existing infrastructure. Bulgarian officials estimate completion by mid-2020 of around 295 miles of pipeline that is to cross gognpq 'popmm- , goo g , q 'S a X 11LULANJILiN,

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