US urges Greece to abandon the Russian gas flow in favor of the Azerbaijani

The United States urged the Greek government to speed up  the implementation of the project Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which will ensure the delivery of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, and not to  count on Russia's "Turkish Stream", Interfax reports citing Associated Press.

 The US Special Envoy for Energy Amos Hohshteyn during a visit to Athens discussed a number of energy issues with Greek colleagues.

E.Hohshteyn stressed that although Russia is the largest source of gas for Europe,  both Europe, and Greece should  diversify suppliers. "Diversification, ultimately, is the best way to ensure security of supply. This means that you should be allowed to receive gas from other  not Russian  sources, just to create competition," he said.

According E.Hohshteyn, the  Azerbaijani gas projects provide energy security on all parameters: a new source, the new provider, the new route. "And this is not one single country dominant in infrastructure and gas production; it includes many companies, different consortia, different countries - none of the elements can destroy a project or use it for political pressure," said the Special Representative.

Greece has previously stated its intention to diversify fuel sources, but Athens regards the relations with Moscow as part of the process.

After talks with E.Hohshteyn the  Greece Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis  said that Athens support the construction of the pipeline through our country, which will be up to the Greek-Turkish border and will deliver natural gas from Russia." He added that "Greece is striving to become pluralistic energy hub in the region."

  TAP project is designed to transport natural gas from the Shah Deniz field in the framework of Stage-2 from the western borders of Turkey through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea to Western Europe. The length of the pipeline is 800 km, capacity is 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year, expandable to 20 billion cubic meters per year depending on supply and demand. Gas production in the framework of Stage 2 is scheduled for 2017.

The "Turkish Flow" replaces  the “South Stream” stalled in the European bureaucracy. The task of the pipe  is to completely exclude Ukraine from the Russian gas transit to Europe. The length of the pipeline will be  approximately 1,100 km, it will consist of four threads.

"Gasprom" has passed the stage of construction of the offshore section of the "Turkish stream," said on Friday the head of  concern Alexei Miller, recalling that "the beginning of the operation of the pipeline "Turkish Stream" and, accordingly, the beginning of deliveries of gas through this pipeline will begin in late 2016". - 0 –