Caspian Sea

Russia and Turkey reportedly suspended negotiations on the construction of the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline.

According to media reports, the negotiations were suspended after Russia failed to sign a key agreement on the discount of gas prices.

Back in February, Turkey obtained a 10.25 % discount on the 28-30 billion cubic meters of gas it purchases from Russia.

Turkey is well placed and an increasingly significant hub for oil and natural gas transit from the Middle East, Central Asia and Russia to Europe and the Atlantic, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has said. 

Azeri state energy company SOCAR plans to sell part of its stake in Turkish petrochemicals company Petkim to cash in on a rise in its share price, SOCAR?s president was quoted as saying by Azeri news agency APA-Economics on July 22.

SOCAR-Turkey has built a 65 percent holding in Petkim since 2007, most recently adding a 10 percent stake bought from the state in 2012.

The foreign ministry of Georgia issued on Wednesday a note of protest to Russia over the illegal installation of banners marking the so-called "state border" of the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

The Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) will create more than 15,000 new jobs and make a great economic contribution to the participating countries, according to the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (Socar), which is conducting the project. 

After Romanian and Serbian energy ministers met in Belgrade, the two officials announced that their countries will work jointly on gas interconnection development to increase energy security.

Greece inked a preliminary agreement with Russia Friday for the construction of a natural gas pipeline, whose construction is due to begin next year.

The Star Refinery, the first oil refinery project in Turkey since 1975, will be online by March 2018, a $5.6 billion investment that will help decrease the country's current account gap by $2.5 billion annually, cutting Turkey's dependence on imported refined oil products, said the SOCAR Turkey CEO and board member of Petkim Petrochemical Holding, Kenan Yavuz. 

Norway?s Statoil announced the closure of its offices in Turkey on June 15, after its sale of a stake in Malaysian company Petronas? Shah Deniz project in Azerbaijan.

Russia's Gazprom is likely to start the construction of a planned gas pipeline to Turkey by the end of this month, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Y?ld?z told Reuters, adding that Ankara is considering becoming an equity partner in the project.

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