UPDATE - Turkey to launch TurkStream on Jan. 8

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Sibel Morrow

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey will launch TurkStream natural gas pipeline next month, energy and natural resources minister said on Friday.

"We will launch TurkStream on Jan. 8. We will be indispensable in international markets with natural gas pipelines coming from both the east and north," said Fatih Donmez in a meeting in the northwestern Bilecik province.

Referring to the inauguration of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline’s (TANAP) Europe link on Nov. 30, Donmez said: “When the TANAP was first signed, people said that the project was a dream.”

“And now, we are concluding another giant project after TANAP. While TurkStream and TANAP will ensure that our nation uses natural gas without any problems, we will also play a key role in ensuring the security of Europe's natural gas supply."

The Nord Stream project -- operational since 2011 with an annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters -- brings Russian gas directly to Germany via the Baltic Sea.

The Nord Stream 2, spearheaded by Russia's state-owned energy company Gazprom, is nearly completed and has the same annual capacity, running almost parallel to the first pipeline route.

Together they will meet the annual gas demands of a quarter of the European continent.

The TurkStream natural gas pipeline has a total capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters, out of which the first line will carry a capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Turkish consumers. The second line will carry another 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe via Turkey.