REUTERS
Negotiations about discounts on Russian gas for Turkey, the success of which was announced in early February, are now in “deadlock,” Russian newspaper Kommersant has reported, with reference to Turkish sources.
Earlier in March, the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Russian gas supplier Gazprom came to an agreement on a 10.25% discount for Russian gas deliveries to the country. But now the parties cannot decide on which components of the formula the discount is to be applied, Kommersant said.
According to the newspaper, Gazprom insists on applying it to the contract price, while Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Corporation Botas claims it should be applied to the base price. The latter option is more profitable for Botas if there is further growth in oil prices.
The disputes put in question the fulfillment of the broader political agreements between Moscow and Ankara related to the construction of Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline, since Turkey is delaying the issuing of permits for it to start. According to experts, Ankara is using the pipeline factor to alleviate the situation for local importers suffering from the weakening Turkish lira, the newspaper said.
As earlier reported, on December 1, 2014 Gazprom and Botas signed a memorandum of understanding on the construction of a gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey via the Black Sea. The designed capacity of the pipeline amounts to 63 billion cubic meters, of which about 50 billion cubic meters will be supplied via a new gas hub on the Turkish-Greek border. Gas from the gas pipe first line in the volume of 15.75 billion cubic meters will be supplied fully to the Turkish market, with deliveries scheduled to be launched in December 2016.