Earlier, the Russian media reported with reference to Gazprom that the company from now on intends to pursue not a European strategy but a Eurasian one, and in case if Europe refuses Russian gas, it can be redirected to Asia. The company has already started construction of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline from eastern Siberia to China.

In particular, the head of Gazprom Alexey Miller said that a new gas mega-market began to form – a Eurasian one. And he said that “apparently, the company will implement the Eurasian strategy with the participation of new strategic partners on the new mega-market.”

“The rejection of the European market is out of the question,” the company said. “Europe was, is, and will be, we are sure, our key market.”

At the same time, the intensive work in the Asian direction will allow the company to diversify the export portfolio, according to the source.

The Asian-Pacific market is so capacious that Gazprom will possibly deliver as much gas to this market as to Europe in the near future, said the source.

Commenting on the recent announcement of Gazprom to stop the transit of gas to Europe through Ukraine after 2019, the source said that Ukrainian gas corridor poses considerable systemic risks as before.

“Under these conditions, in order to ensure the reliability of the supplies, Gazprom is implementing the project for construction of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline that will deliver up to 47 billion cubic meters of gas to the border with EU,” said the source.

Recently, Russia’s Gazprom said it doesn’t plan to extend the contract for gas transit to Europe through Ukraine’s territory after 2019.

Instead, Moscow intends to switch the European consumers to the supply through the Turkish Stream. Gazprom head Alexey Miller and Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that the new gas pipeline running to Turkey through the Black Sea will be built anyway and European consumers will have to make a choice - stretch the gas transportation infrastructure to Turkey, or to be left without Russian gas.

Turkish Stream project initiated by Russia envisages the supply of 63 billion cubic meters of gas.

Of these, some 14 billion cubic meters of gas is intended for delivery to Turkey and the remaining volumes, about 50 billion cubic meters of gas, will be delivered to the border of Turkey with Greece.

The gas pipeline is projected to run on 660-kilometer section of the route, on which it was planned to build the South Stream, and on 250-kilometer section in a new corridor towards the European part of Turkey.

It is also planned that the first line of the pipeline, with a pumping capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas per year, will be stretched to Turkey in December 2016.

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