TAP does not guarantee great demand in gas in Europe, says Greek Minister

Gasprom has expressed readiness to consider the options of participation in building of infrastructure in Greece to transport Russian gas, reported Gasprom press office after the meeting between Gasprom President Aleksei Miller and Greek Energy Minister Panayotis Lafazanis.

  The sides have discussed construction of the capacities for the Russian gas transportation on the territory of Greece. Gasprom is ready to consider the options of involvement in construction of the infrastructure on the mutually beneficial conditions.

  On May 29, 2015 Lafazanis met with his Russian colleague Alexander Novak in Moscow and the meeting with Miller has taken place in Saint Petersburg.

  Gasprom plans to build the Turkish Stream gas pipeline along the Black Sea bottom to the border of Turkey and Greece. Russia has been negotiating with Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary about the possibility of their involvement in extension of the pipeline to the gas hub in Austria.

  Lafazanis said in his interview to Sputnik that the US attitude towards expansion of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline on the territory of Turkey will not affect the position of Greece. “We support the project and we would like to lay the gas pipeline along the territory of Greece. We are confident that all European countries will need and we are very disappointed with the US position,” he added.

  Lafazanis believes that the Turkish Stream and TAP (gas pipeline from Azerbaijan to Europe) are not competitors, because each one has its own role to play. “TAP will pass through Greece, but it does not guarantee a huge demand of Europe in gas,” he said and added that the project is not an alternative to the Turkish Stream.

  According to his estimates, the Greek section of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline could cost about 2 billion Euro. “We have not discussed the project funding yet. But we already know that approximate cost of the gas pipeline will be about 2 billion Euro and its construction will create about 20,000 jobs,” Minister said.

   He also said that the agreement on construction of the Turkish Stream in Greece to supply gas to the southern Europe could be signed during the International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg in June 2015. “We are currently at the stage of planning and analysis. The trans-national agreement on the gas pipeline is currently at the final stage. We hope that it will be signed soon,” he said and added that Greek Premier Alexis Tsipras plans to came to the Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg.—0—