MOSCOW, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- The Turkish government is reviewing offers related to the construction of a natural gas pipeline through the country, a Kremlin official said.
Russian energy company Gazprom said in February it surveyed the Turkish land route for the 110-mile section of a gas pipeline planned from the Black Sea. The Turkish government said last week, however, it couldn't move ahead with the project because it did not have route survey coordinates.
A representative in the Russian Energy Ministry told state news agency Itar-TASS the Kremlin has sent two offers to the Turkish government for consideration on a pipeline project dubbed Turkish Stream.
"Currently, the Turkish side is considering those offers," the representative said.
No specifics were outlined by the Russian representative. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in early August the government was ready to sign on to an intergovernmental agreement on one section of the pipeline within weeks.
Turkey is the second-largest consumer of Russian natural gas. The Turkish government is looking to exploit its geographical position by serving as an energy bridge between Central Asian and Russian suppliers and the European economy.
South Stream, a longer version of the Russian pipeline, was envisioned as a European network before the Kremlin pulled it off the table in late 2014. Though European leaders are working to diversify an energy sector dependent on Russia, Fitch Ratings agency in December said European demand for Russian natural gas can be satisfied with existing gas networks from Russia.
Last week, the Asian Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, with support from the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, announced funding support for the second stage of the Shah Deniz natural gas field off the coast of Azerbaijan.
A series of pipelines are planned for delivery of natural gas from the Shah Deniz reserve basin in the Azeri waters of the Caspian Sea. Development of Shah Deniz is underway from a consortium led by British energy company BP.
BP, leading Azeri developments alongside a state-backed energy company, has awarded more than $1 billion in development contracts since selecting the Trans-Adriatic pipeline as its option for Shah Deniz in 2013. TAP would connect to the Trans-Anatolian natural gas project running through Turkey to the Greek border.
