Russian parliament ratifies TurkStream

MOSCOW, February 1, 2017 – The upper house of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, ratified the deal for the construction of the TurkStream gas pipeline on Wednesday, after the lower house passed a similar bill on January 20.

The agreement signed in Istanbul in October 2016 envisions two pipes with a combined capacity of 31.5 bcm (1.11 tcf) per year, to be complete by the end of 2019.

The deal “implies the creation of a favourable regulatory and legal framework, including tax and Customs regulations, for design, construction and further service treatment of the gas pipeline,” Russia’s Deputy Energy Minister Yuri Sentyurin told Tass news agency.

The ratification of the agreement is a big step toward “a complete recovery of relations with the Turkish Republic,” the deputy chairman of the Federation Council, Ilyas Umakhanov, added.

Turkey ratified the agreement, which would turn it into an export hub for Russian gas to Europe, in late 2016.

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