Gas pipe in the Black Sea. Gazprom has announced a new gas pipeline under the Black Sea. Forceful circumstances over which no one can influence
Blue Stream is a unique gas transportation facility designed to supply Russian natural gas to Turkey through the Black Sea (bypassing third countries). The Blue Stream is the deepest water pipeline in the world. The agreement on the construction of the Blue Stream was signed on December 15, 1997.
The total length of the route is 1213 kilometers (the sea section is 396 kilometers, the land section is 817 kilometers).
The maximum depth is 2150 meters.
The total length of the tunnels (on the Russian land section) is 3260 meters.
The design capacity is 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
Start of gas supply - February 2003.
The volume of investments is 3.2 billion dollars.
The Blue Stream gas pipeline is a Russian-Italian project: the Gazprom energy concern is participating on the Russian side, and the ENI oil and gas concern (Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi) on the Italian side.
Blue Stream is a new page in the history of the development of modern gas transportation technologies and the largest project in the field of export deliveries of Russian gas.
Many Western experts expressed doubts about the possibility of building a gas pipeline at depths of up to 2150 meters in an aggressive hydrogen sulfide environment.
During the construction of the gas pipeline, materials and equipment were used not only from Russian, but also from German, Italian, and Japanese manufacturers. To improve the reliability of the gas pipeline, pipes made of corrosion-resistant steel with an internal and external polymer coating were used. All Blue Stream facilities have undergone a rigorous environmental review. An integrated system of production and environmental monitoring has been created on the gas pipeline. Around the clock, two stationary posts measure the environmental parameters of the air and transmit reports to the central point of production and environmental monitoring of the Blue Stream gas pipeline. The mobile laboratory regularly measures the quality of water and air around the compressor station "Beregovaya". In October 2004, Gazprom's subsidiary, DOAO Orgenergogaz, received the main prize of the national environmental award in the nomination "Eco-efficiency" for the implementation of the environmental monitoring system for the Blue Stream gas pipeline.
Blue Stream complements the gas transportation corridor from Russia to Turkey, which passes through the territory of Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and Bulgaria. Conventionally, it is divided into three sections: land on the Russian side from the city of Izobilny, Stavropol Territory, to the village of Arkhipo-Osipovka Krasnodar Territory on the Black Sea coast (373 kilometers), sea - from the village of Arkhipo-Osipovka to the Durusu terminal located near the Turkish city of Samsun (396 kilometers), land from Samsun to Ankara (444 kilometers). For the first time in the practice of Russian oil and gas industry long tunnels under the Kobyla and Bezymyanny ridges were built on the mountainous section of the onshore part of the gas pipeline.
The history of the creation of the Blue Stream gas pipeline
The first official negotiations on the Blue Stream project began in September 1996.
On December 15, 1997, a Russian-Turkish intergovernmental agreement was signed under which Gazprom signed a contract with the Turkish fuel giant BOTAŞ to supply 365 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey over 25 years.
In 1999, a protocol was signed on the mutual application by the parties of a preferential tax regime to a new international project
To provide financing, organize the construction and operation of the gas pipeline, Gazprom and the Italian oil and gas concern ENI created a Russian-Italian company special purpose "Blue Stream Pipeline Co" (registered in the Netherlands). The consortium created to carry out the work included "Saipem S.p.A." (Italy), "Bouygues Offshore S.A." (France), "Katran-K" (Russia) and "Mitsui & Co", "Sumitomo Corp." and Itochu Corp. (Japan).
Russian-Italian joint venture"Blue Stream Pipeline Co" covered 20% of capital costs from its own capital, and the rest - from loans received for gas exports ($1.76 billion was provided by Japanese, Italian and British export credit institutions).
On February 3, 2000, a symbolic welding of the first joint took place on the Russian onshore part of the gas pipeline near Krasnodar. The docking took place at km 263 of the land route of the gas pipeline Izobilny (Stavropol Territory) - Dzhubga (Krasnodar Territory, Black Sea coast).
In December 2004, the Russian concern Gazprom and the Turkish the state company "BOTAŞ" signed a memorandum on the development of cooperation in the gas sector.
"BOTAŞ" was engaged in the construction of the pipeline, and the ENI concern was responsible for laying pipes along the bottom of the Black Sea (the Italian company "Saipem" acted as the general contractor for the construction of the offshore section).
The construction of the Beregovaya compressor station began in August 2001. This is a unique technical structure built at an altitude of 235 meters above sea level. Prior to the commissioning of the Beregovaya station, gas transportation was provided only through the operation of the previously commissioned compressor stations Krasnodarskaya and Stavropolskaya.
The pipeline was commissioned at the end of December 2002. A protocol on the commissioning of the Blue Stream launch complex was signed at the Durusu gas measuring station. The main purpose of the gas measuring station "Durusu" is to reduce pressure and measure the volume of supplied Russian natural gas. The volumes of Russian natural gas supplied are measured in accordance with international standards.
On February 20, 2003, commercial deliveries of Russian natural gas to Turkey began via the Blue Stream gas pipeline through the Durusu station.
The volume of gas supplies to Turkey through the pipeline in 2003 amounted to 2 billion cubic meters, in 2004 - 3.3 billion cubic meters.
However, in 2003 the Turkish side demanded a reduction in the price of Russian gas and a revision of previous contracts. Ankara announced the inadmissibility of maintaining the Russian monopoly on natural gas supplies and began an active search for alternative sources in Turkmenistan, Iran, Egypt, Qatar and Iraq.
As a result of negotiations, Russia and Turkey found a compromise solution. Russia pledged to reduce the volume of gas supplies, and Turkey - to pay for all delivered gas, regardless of its current needs. In addition, the contract stipulated that the gas price would be lower in summer than in winter.
On November 3, 2005, the first stage of the Beregovaya compressor station was put into operation in the Gelendzhik region of the Krasnodar Territory, which created a technical possibility for gas supplies to Turkey in full. It is planned to reach the capacity of 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year in 2010. During the construction of the compressor station "Beregovaya" the most advanced technologies were applied: usually linear compressor stations are located at a distance of 80 to 120 kilometers from each other. Beregovaya delivers gas through the offshore section over a distance of almost 400 kilometers.
On November 17, 2005, solemn events dedicated to the implementation of the Blue Stream project took place at the Durusu gas measuring station near the city of Samsun.
In 2006, Blue Stream supplied 7.5 billion cubic meters of gas, and in 2007 - 9.5 billion cubic meters.
Blue Stream is a ready-made gas transportation corridor for the implementation of new projects, one of which could be Blue Stream 2 to supply Russian gas to Israel and Italy.
Official website of the concern "Gazprom": http://www.gazprom.ru
The official website of the concern "Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi": http://www.eni.it/en_IT/home.html
Official site of the company "BOTAŞ": http://www.botas.gov.tr
Official site of the company "Saipem": http://www.saipem.it
Bouygues Offshore S.A. official website: http://www.bouygues-offshore.com
Mitsui & Co official website: http://www.mitsui.co.jp
Sumitomo Corp. official website:
= Post prepared in the interests of Stroygazmontazh Group of Companies =
We are a generation that was born in the age of a technological breakthrough, and often do not even imagine what is behind the achievements of civilization. Of course, in general terms, everyone knows that water flows through pipes in the ground, the GPS signal comes from a satellite in space, and giant stations generate electricity. But did we understand what it cost to create all this?
Previously, i , and . Now we will talk about an unusual object that was built by the Rotenberg company. We know that not only sports facilities were built for the games in Sochi, but also infrastructure elements. Often built from scratch and for the first time: it is not for nothing that a film about one of the most complex and impressive infrastructure facilities is called " Nobody ever"We are talking about the Dzhubga - Lazarevskoye - Sochi gas pipeline. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that 90% of the main route (and this is more than 150 km) runs along the bottom of the Black Sea along the coastal strip at a depth of up to 80 meters. This decision made it possible to avoid any -or the impact of construction on the Black Sea coast.
As I have already said, the main part of the gas pipeline runs along the bottom of the Black Sea at a distance of five kilometers from the coast. At the very beginning, end and several sections along the way, the route goes outside and connects with gas distribution points. In these sections, gas is sent along various routes to the consumer. And he comes, in turn, from Yamal along other main routes. In other words, before reaching Sochi, gas travels thousands of kilometers from north to south:
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The gas distribution point (GRP) "Kudepsta" is located on the top of the mountain. A main pipe "cuts" into the land from the sea and rises up. According to the builders, the inclined drilling method was used to create this section. They did not lay the route using the usual trench method, so that, again, not to harm the environment:
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However, the most interesting thing is how the main highway was built. All work took place at sea. Huge pipes half a meter in diameter made of heavy-duty alloy were reinforced with a layer of concrete, welded right on the ship, and then lowered into the sea:
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Before laying the gas pipeline, submariners walked along the route of the pipe and discovered two minefields left after the Second World War:
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The most difficult construction process was the joining of two pipes - the main "thread" that went along the sea and the land section. Docking also took place at sea and took three days. This required the coordinated work of the entire team that worked on the construction of the gas pipeline:
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Today, the result of their work is hidden by 80 meters of water, and this unique experience is reminiscent of the new gas distribution point in Kudepsta, which increased the gas capacity of the entire Sochi region and its environs.
I must say that before the construction of a new gas pipeline, Sochi already had gas. At the same time, the share of gasification of the region did not exceed three percent. This is catastrophically small for life and, of course, would not provide the capacities necessary for the Olympics. In addition, in the event of accidents or failures, the entire coast would be left without fuel (suffice it to recall the story of the blackout in Crimea).
Let's take a look at hydraulic fracturing and see how it works. Before you get there, you must go through the checkpoint and check. Being the most important infrastructure point, the GRP is guarded around the clock by several armed people:
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Passage inside is possible only accompanied by the head of the section and in agreement with the top management:
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Along the entire perimeter there are cameras with motion sensors:
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So, hydraulic fracturing is a point of gas distribution from the main main pipe. Here, the pressure is reduced and the gas goes to small gas distribution stations, which, in turn, send it to end consumers:
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The head of the section says that this is one of several parts of a multi-kilometer long pipe that goes outside:
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It seems that the site "smells of gas", but it is not. The air smells of an odorant - a special composition that is added to the gas so that it acquires an odor (the gas itself has neither color nor odor):
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Odorant capacity:
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After the pressure of the gas has decreased and a "smell" has been added to it, it spreads into several branches.
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Workers are planting fruit trees near the hydraulic fracturing station:
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In total, the Kudep point sends fuel to 11 stations. Here it is important to clarify that the gas pipeline is connected to the already existing Maikop line. This has its own meaning: if earlier an accident or preventive work occurred at some site, all the following points remained without gas. And now gas can circulate in two directions, ensuring the uninterrupted operation of the entire Sochi region:
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The most important recipient of gas is the Adler TPP, about which I
The depth of the sea can reach several kilometers. Lay pipes along the bottom - difficult task. But there are 6,000 km of pipelines under the North Sea, some of which have been there for 40 years.
The dimensions of the largest ship in the world - Solitaire - are 300 meters long and about 40 meters wide. It is this vessel that is involved in the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
Search for obstacles
Offshore gas pipelines today account for 45% of natural gas imports to Europe. Prior to the laying of the gas pipeline, a thorough survey of the seabed is carried out throughout the entire route. Specialists need to detect all potential obstacles - these are sunken ships, and ammunition, and just large boulders. If necessary, obstacles are either eliminated or the route is designed to bypass. At this stage, specialists also identify places where it will be necessary to deepen the pipeline into the ground or backfill it.
All pipes for the future gas pipeline undergo special processing. From the inside, they are treated with an anti-friction coating, which reduces resistance during gas transportation. From above, the pipes are treated with an anti-corrosion, and then with a weighting concrete coating.
houseboats
The laying of pipes directly on the seabed is carried out from special pipe-laying vessels. Pipe-laying ships are huge floating houses that can carry several hundred people at the same time.
As a rule, several ships take part in the pipe-laying process at once - special barges carry out continuous delivery of pipes to the pipe-layer, and in front of it, during the laying process, there is a vessel that monitors the seabed. Delivered pipes are unloaded to storage sites located directly on the deck of the pipelayer - they must have a supply of pipes for 12 hours of operation.
How pipes are laid
A special conveyor is installed on the pipe-laying vessel - pipes are delivered to it, which are welded here. Each weld is then ultrasonically tested for defects. After welding, all seams are covered with an anti-corrosion coating. Pipes welded together move along the conveyor towards the stern. A stinger is located here - a special arrow that goes into the water at an angle, along which the pipes gradually descend to the seabed. It is he who sets the required deflection of the upper part of the pipeline, which makes it possible to prevent deformation of the metal.
At the bottom of the sea, the pipes, as a rule, lie under their own weight - they do not need to be specially fixed, because the weight of each pipe after applying the concrete coating reaches several tons. Only in some places, for example, at landfalls, to ensure stability, the pipes are laid in special trenches and sprinkled with soil on top.
From the sea to the shore
The process of laying an offshore gas pipeline, as a rule, does not start from the shore, as one might think, but at sea. The gas pipeline may consist of several sections built in different time from different vessels and then interconnected - after all, in different sections the gas pipeline must withstand different pressures, and for this, pipes with different wall thicknesses are used.
After the construction of the offshore section is completed, the pipes are dragged ashore using a special winch installed on land, which is connected to the pipe with iron cables and slowly pulls it out of the sea. Then the pipeline is connected to its land part - they make an "overlap".
An obligatory stage is the hydraulic testing of the gas pipeline. To do this, it is filled with water under the required pressure and kept for some time to detect possible defects. Careful monitoring of the state of the gas pipeline is carried out after its commissioning. For this, special electronic devices for in-line diagnostics are used.
On Wednesday, February 24, Gazprom, the Italian Edison and Greek DEPA signed in Rome a memorandum on the supply of Russian gas under the Black Sea through third countries to Greece and further to Italy. Which is symptomatic, on the eve of the chairman of the board of Gazprom Alexey Miller met with the Minister of Economic Development of Italy Federica Guidi, and the signing ceremony was attended by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece Giorgos Tsipras.
The purpose of the memorandum is to organize a southern route for Russian gas supplies to Europe. To do this, the parties intend to use the results of the work carried out Edison and DEPA In the project's boundaries ITGI Poseidon (Interconnector Turkey-Greece-Italy), said Gazprom.
“The revival of this project enhances Europe’s energy security with an additional supply channel and elevates Greece’s role as a major corridor for gas supplies from various sources and routes,” said the CEO DEPA Theodoros Kitsakos.
Recall that "Poseidon" ( Poseidon) is the offshore part of the project ITGI, from Turkey through Greece to Italy along the bottom of the Ionian Sea. The parties, including Bulgaria, signed an agreement on the construction of an underwater gas pipeline back in 2002, but the matter never came to fruition. It was assumed that the "thread" would stretch from the Greek Stavroliminas to the Italian Otranto. The cost of the entire project was estimated in 2008 at € 1 billion, and the construction of its offshore section at € 350 million.
In theory, today Poseidon can be a continuation of both the Turkish Stream and the South Stream. At one time, Gazprom consistently discussed the construction of these two gas pipelines with a capacity of 63 billion cubic meters per year each in order to refuse transit through Ukraine. However, both projects were eventually shelved. "South Stream" - due to opposition European countries. "Turkish Stream" - because of the downed Turkish Air Force Russian Su-24M.
After that, Gazprom began negotiations on Nord Stream 2 with a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters with northern European countries, and attracted BASF, E. On, Engie, OMV and Shell.
Perhaps this is what is now pushing the South European countries to reconsider their positions, and still decide to build a gas pipeline. In early January 2016, rumors appeared in the press about the possible resumption of South Stream. About such plans, as the Bulgarian newspaper wrote Standard, Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov allegedly told his entourage. However, this information was not officially confirmed by the government of the republic.
What is behind Gazprom's initiative? Will it be possible to implement a gas pipeline project to Southern Europe along the bottom of the Black Sea?
- The southern route of Russian gas supplies has been discussed again, since the problem of supplying Turkey and the Balkans bypassing Ukraine has not gone away, - says Dr. Director of the National Energy Institute Sergey Pravosudov.
“With the help of Nord Stream 2, we can easily solve the problem of supplies to Italy. In this case, it is enough to bring gas to Austria, and then there is an operating "pipe" through which "blue fuel" can be transported to the Apennine Peninsula. With Turkey and the Balkans, the issue is more difficult to resolve - here, in any case, it is necessary to build additional gas pipelines.
Let me remind you that Russian gas goes to Turkey along two routes: directly through the Blue Stream gas pipeline along the bottom of the Black Sea (its capacity is 16 billion cubic meters per year), and through the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline through Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria. This second route is problematic if we intend to refuse Ukrainian transit.
It is precisely to resolve the issues of deliveries to Turkey and the Balkans that the memorandum of Gazprom is primarily aimed, Edison and DEPA.
At the same time, the parties decided to provide for an additional possibility of gas supplies to Southern Italy. Let me remind you that now there are supplies of gas from Libya, but they are not very stable. In addition, no one can guarantee what will happen to Libya in 5-10 years. The Italians have already signed a gas agreement with Azerbaijan, but, apparently, they want to insure themselves with Russian "blue fuel" as well.
However, one must understand that the memorandum is just a declaration of intent, and not a binding decision.
"SP": - How exactly can the southern supply route look like?
— There are only three countries through which Gazprom can enter Southern Europe via Black Sea. These are Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. In my opinion, the Bulgarian version is currently the most elaborated: a specific route is defined there, so the construction of the gas pipeline can be started at any moment.
But, as we well remember, in December 2014 Moscow abandoned the construction of the South Stream through the territory of Bulgaria. This happened after the government of Bulgaria, under the leadership of Flames of Oresharsky decided to stop work on the project in June 2014. Sophia explained this decision by the inconsistency of the project with the requirements of the European Commission.
Perhaps now the situation has changed - for example, Italy will be able to better defend its rights, and then Gazprom has a chance. If not, the Bulgarians have clearly shown that, in principle, they are not able to stand up for themselves. Therefore, there is no point in relying on them. Yes, if the European Commission - and also better than usa- let the Bulgarians take Russian gas, they will gladly seize this opportunity. But so far nothing indicates that they will receive such permission.
There is, however, an alternative option to the Black Sea: solve the problem of Ukraine and leave Ukrainian transit. This is possible if the situation in the “square” stabilizes, and its GTS will be owned and operated by an international gas consortium. But so far, it is clear that in Ukraine this is not even close.
"SP": - Does this mean that we can return to the "Turkish Stream"?
- The situation with the Turks is interesting. Let me remind you that Turkey is the second largest buyer of Russian gas after Germany. Moreover, even after the incident with the Su-24M, after a sharp cooling of Russian-Turkish relations and unfriendly rhetoric from both sides, Russian gas to Turkey continues to flow without interruption. Gazprom has signed long-term contracts with Ankara, which we are simply obliged to fulfill. Therefore, if we refuse Ukrainian transit, we need to solve the problem of missing Turkish supplies - still build a gas pipeline to Turkey.
On the other hand, the geopolitical balance of power is changing - it has already come to a temporary truce in Syria. Perhaps, in the future, our relations with the Turks will improve to such an extent that a return to the Turkish Stream will become possible.
I will say more: the Turkish Stream consists of two-thirds of the South Stream, the branch of which goes not to Bulgaria, but to the left, towards Turkey. This means that, if desired, it will be possible to build two gas pipelines: both to Turkey and to Bulgaria.
"SP": - When will it become clear which routes we will supply gas to Europe?
I don't think anyone knows for sure right now. Russia has a desire to provide European supplies, while Turkey and Southern Europe have objective needs for gas. But, on the other hand, there are a lot of interested players both in the EU and in the US that hinder the implementation of gas projects. One thing can be said for sure: Gazprom will probably build one of the southern gas pipelines ...
“Gazprom is solving the problem, as they say, from the tail,” notes Alexander Pasechnik, head of the analytical department of the National Energy Security Fund.
By signing the memorandum, the concern signaled that it was ready to supply gas to Italy and Greece, and that the primary transit countries - Bulgaria and Turkey - should pay attention: the Black Sea project is frozen, but can be updated again. After all, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not eternal, and if the political course of Turkey changes, it is quite possible that we will be able to start implementing the Turkish Stream.
Gazprom in the memorandum outlines the strategic goals and gives strategic outlines. From them, in particular, it follows that, in general, the course of Gazprom remains unchanged, and it intends to bypass Ukraine, both from the north and from the south.
Yes, Nord Stream 2 is seeing more progress today than the southern direction. But on the other hand, there is a starting infrastructure in the southern direction: in the Krasnodar Territory, for example, Japanese pipes intended for the deep-water part of the gas pipeline are waiting in the wings. This suggests that South Stream is far from being a crude project, and that Gazprom is determined to implement it in the future.
On the other hand, the Russian concern softened its position on the Ukrainian route. As follows from the latest statements by Gazprom, Ukraine will continue to be a transit country after 2019, despite the political differences between Moscow and Kyiv.
In my opinion, this is a pragmatic solution. The fact is that in the current economic situation there is simply no point in the accelerated construction of new main gas pipelines.
Initially, when calculating the economic efficiency of both South Stream and Turkish Stream, a high gas price was taken into account - over $ 400 per thousand cubic meters. But since then, the prices for "blue fuel" have fallen significantly, following oil quotes, and in 2016 Gazprom would like to receive only $ 180 per thousand cubic meters from European buyers. Such an unfavorable market situation greatly lengthens the payback period of main gas pipelines, which is completely unfavorable for Gazprom.
I think that in any case, the Russian concern will first wait for the rise in prices for "blue fuel", and only then will it build new gas pipelines, including to Southern Europe...
Without propaganda pomp, TV cameras and the presence of high-ranking people, Gazprom has finally begun laying the long-suffering gas pipeline along the bottom of the Black Sea. And in fact, why raise an advertising hype when there is nothing special to brag about.
The original South Stream was renamed Turkish Stream, in the belief that by changing the name and direction, it would be possible to bypass the obstacles put forward by EU bureaucrats. However, the intractability of the Turks over the price of Russian energy, and then the conflict over the downed Su-24, pushed back the start of construction by two years.
Moreover, significant adjustments had to be made to the design capacity. Instead of four lines of the gas pipeline with a total volume of 63 billion cubic meters, there are only two - approximately 33 billion cubic meters. One of them is intended for Turkey itself, the other for consumers in Southern and South-Eastern Europe. If everything is clear with the Turkish thread (they started laying it), then the fate of the European one is still in complete fog.
It was assumed that since the Turkish side would be the owner of the second transit pipe from the Black Sea coast to the Greek border, this would remove all EU claims against Gazprom within the framework of the 3rd Energy Package, which does not allow combining the roles of seller and supplier of energy resources in one person. It turned out to be an almost win-win option, which, look, over time, could make it possible to lay two more strings of the gas pipeline and bring gas supplies to Europe to the desired volume.
Only these plans did not take into account the ambitions of Turkish President Erdogan. He, building a system of personal authoritarian power, went into open conflict with the West. Because of the referendum on the constitution, the head of Turkey quarreled with a number of leading EU countries.
In his pre-election rhetoric, Erdogan not only accused the Netherlands of fascism, Germany of maintaining the Nazi order, but, reproaching Brussels for deliberately delaying Turkey's admission to the EU, threatened to break the agreement on Middle Eastern migrants and no longer hold back the illegal flow of refugees. This is unlikely to be forgotten soon.
Europeans were also sharply criticized by the mass repressions of the Turkish authorities against dissidents. Tens of thousands of teachers, judges, and lawyers not only lost their jobs - many of them ended up behind bars as possible supporters of the preacher Gülen, who was declared the main ideologist and organizer of the failed military coup in July 2016.
Also, the Western public was seriously concerned about the restrictions on democratic rights in Turkey and, above all, the attack on freedom of speech. The country came out on top in the world in terms of the number of arrested journalists. Dozens of opposition television and radio stations, newspapers and magazines have been closed.
All the way low level German-Turkish relations deteriorated. The diplomatic skirmish between Vienna and Ankara does not stop. The Turks, in particular, refused to jointly participate with the Austrian military in NATO exercises.
Not in at its best were Greek-Turkish relations. Athens did not extradite the Turkish soldiers who fled to their territory after the failed coup. Ankara responded with angry notes of protest.
All these factors, according to international experts, may have a political impact on Brussels' decision on the fate of Russian gas when it reaches the Greek border. At the same time, the main problem will not be the growing energy dependence of Europe on Russia, but the expediency of a transit pipeline through Turkey, which can be regarded as European support for the Erdogan regime.
Moscow also seems to have realized the reality of such a prospect. It is not for nothing that soundings about the return to the Bulgarian version of the gas pipeline have recently become more active. Although in January 2015, the head of Gazprom categorically stated that the topic of South Stream was finally closed. Now I have to take back my words.
At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Bulgarian Minister of Energy Temenuzhka Petkova and Alexei Miller signed a road map that implies the participation of the Russian concern in the development of the gas transportation system in Bulgaria.
For two years now, Sofia has been nurturing the idea of building an interregional gas connector "Balkans" in the country in order to link all the pipelines of the Balkan Peninsula together. The main problem of the project was where to get gas and find investors. Bulgaria alone could not pull the construction worth 2 billion euros.
The European Commission reacted favorably to the proposal of Bulgaria, however, apart from verbal approval, it did not promise money. Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, speaking with President Vladimir Putin on the phone, tried to interest Russia in the idea of a gas hub. Failed. The Kremlin's faith in the future of the Turkish Stream was too rosy.
However, the Bulgarians did not lose hope. As it turned out, not in vain. True, Brussels still needs to be persuaded to give firm written guarantees (in the Moscow wording "reinforced concrete") that it does not object to the truncated version of the South Stream.
The Bulgarian side believes that it will be able to resolve this issue. At least Borisov has already begun to prepare the ground. He, being on an official visit to Berlin, tried to attract Chancellor Merkel to the allies, telling her in detail about the plans to build the Balkans hub and its importance for the entire region of South-Eastern Europe.