The LNG terminal that is under construction outside Odessa is facing Turkish resistance, Premier Mykola Azarov said at a meeting with the Ambassador and State Department's Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs Carlos Pascual, KW wrote in the latest issue.
Azarov claimed that Turkish officials do not want to let gas tankers pass through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. Azarov said Ukraine is therefore examining other possibilities for implementing this project. “We are looking at other locations for the plant on the other side of Turkey, I mean the Mediterranean Sea and some other options,” the premier said.
The head of the government mentioned that Ukraine faced unexpected difficulties in negotiations with Turkey regarding the transit of tankers with liquefied gas through the Bosphorus. Azarov did not mention any specific projects, however, but he said that it should be noted that in the past Turkey had planned to build a plant for taking liquefied gas on the coast of the Aegean Sea.
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry is eager to join the construction of the terminal because it would allow additional amounts of fuel to be delivered to Ukraine through the territory of Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and then via the Ananiv–Izmail pipeline. The LNG terminal project is the key element in the implementation of the government’s policy to diversify gas imports. The project’s estimated value is EUR 846 mn of which a quarter should be invested by the government.
