MOSCOW, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Development of the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline from Russia is on hold because of installation delays, an official with Russia's Gazprom said.
Alexander Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russian natural gas company Gazprom, said the late 2016 launch of the pipeline through Turkey was no longer achievable.
"Due to the fact that the installation [of the pipeline] did not begin as planned, we are no longer speaking of December 2016," he said.
The Kremlin sent two offers to the Turkish government for consideration on a pipeline project in mid-2015. In August, the government said there was still no word on the project from Ankara.
Gazprom surveyed the Turkish land route for the 110-mile section of pipeline from the Black Sea last year. Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said last month there were delays from the Russian side in terms of the coordinates needed to build the pipeline.
Novak in July said a decision on at least one of the legs of the planned pipeline was expected "within a week or two."
Turkey aims to exploit its geographical position to serve as an energy bridge for oil and natural gas supplies running from Eastern economies to Europe. A rival project from natural gas fields off the coast of Azerbaijan would run through Turkish networks to Europe.
Turkey is the second-largest consumer of Russian natural gas. South Stream, a longer version of the Russian pipeline through Turkey, was envisioned as a European network before the Kremlin pulled it off the table in late 2014.
European leaders in the past have put pressure on Gazprom, saying it holds a monopoly over supplies and transit arteries.
