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1 1 (May 6, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govedfi0001 and id is 1 raw text is: C s no) Uesesrch Service fri irnn~ I ~t ~ebMo irn #~ Updated May 6, 2021 TurkStream: Russia's Southern Pipeline to Europe Russia's leading state-owned energy company, Gazprom, has long sought to protectits share of Europe's natural gas market. Along with the controversial and stillunfmished Nord Stream2 project (see CRS In Focus IF11138, Russia 's NordStream 2 Pipeline: Continued Uncertainty), Gazprom's TurkStreamproject may strengthen Russia's footholdin Europeanenergymarkets, especially in southeastern Europe. It also could cement Turkey's longtime status as a lead recipient of Rus sian gas, even as Rus sia's overall share of Turkish gas imports has recently decreased. Opponents of the TurkStreamproject, including some Members ofCongress,haveexpressed concernthatthe project could erode Ukraine's transit role for natural gas. Many analysts maintain that Moscow could use its energy exports as leverage in countries that are dependent upon Rus sian naturalg as. The United States, in turn, supports projects to diversify naturalgas supplies to Europe and undercut Russia's market dominance. Background The EU is Rus sia's largest natural gas export market. In 2019, Russia supplied about 38% ofthe EU's natural gas imports. Turkey is Russia's largest gas export market after the EU, although volumes have fluctuated. Due to Turkish increases in pipeline supply fromAzerbaijan and spot purchases fromliquefied naturalgas (LNG) suppliers such as Qatar and the United States, Russia's share of Turkey's imports decreased fromabout 50% in 2018 to around 33% in 2019 and 2020. However, long-terms upply contracts and other factors may affect Turkish efforts to maintain or broaden diversification. Russia has exportednaturalgas 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 untilJanuary 2020. Via Ukraine, TBP crosses Moldova, Romania, and Bulgaria. In addition to transporting gas to these countries and Turkey, TBP also delivered Russiangas to North Macedonia and Greece. The Blue Streampipeline, which became operationalin 2003, is a joint project between Gazpromand Italy's Enithat crosses the Black Sea and makes landfall in central Turkey. The TurkStreamproject arose after the 2014 cancellation of Rus sia's South Stream project, a Gazprom-led venture that would have transported Rus sian natural gas across the Black Sea to Bulgaria and further into Europe. The South Streamproject collapsed in the wake ofRussia's invasion of Ukraine and amid a dispute between Gazpromand the EU involving regulatory is sues. In late 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced South Stream's cancellation as Gazpromsigned a memorandumof understanding with BOTA$ Petroleum Pipeline Corporation, a Turkish state-owned company, to construct TurkStream. Russian President Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated TurkStreamin January 2020. The TurkStreamsystemconsists oftwo parallelpipelines 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 (for more on Turkey's status as a regional energy transport hub, s ee CRS Report R41368, Turkey: Backgroundand U.S. Relations). The second pipeline, for which onshore construction continues, extends into southeastern Europe and has begun to deliver g as to some markets there. Many analysts view TurkStreamas a counter to the U.S.- backed Southern Gas Corridor project, which transports naturalgas fromAzerbaijan to Europe. The Southern Gas Corridor includes three connecting pipelines: the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) in Azerbaijan and Georgia; the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) through Turkey; and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which extends from Greece to Italy via Albania and the Adriatic Sea. These threepipelineshave an annualtotalcapacity of16BCM- roughly half the total planned capacity of TurkStream. The first delivery of gas through TANAP to Turkey was in June 2018, and TAP made its first deliveries in late 2020. Turkey has contracted for 6 BCM from TANAP, and 1OBCM is to continue on through TAP (mostly to Italy and also to Greece and Bulgaria). Figure 1. Southeastern European Gas Infrastructure Existing Pipeline Op. =Operaring; Canc. = Canceled I LNG lmort Terminal a C TurkStream Usessetionsof Trans-Balkan Tap . C Source: Created by CRS usingdatafrom U.S. Department of State, I HS, ESRI, European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas, and Bulgartransgaz https://crs reports.congress.gor

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