Gazprom announces shutdown of vital gas pipeline to Hungary
According to Oilcapital.ru, Gazprom will conduct several days of maintenance on the TurkStream pipeline in June. This is the only remaining route for Russian gas deliveries to Europe. Based on previous years' practice,
gas transportation will come to a complete halt during the maintenance period, potentially interrupting all 'blue fuel' exports to Europe.
Bulgarian company Bulgartransgaz has announced that restrictions will be introduced at the Strandzha 2-Malkochlar border crossing with Türkiye from 10 to 14 June. Russian gas enters Europe via TurkStream at this point. According to Bulgarian authorities, the amount of gas delivered to the border will decrease by 54% to 25.7 million cubic metres per day during maintenance.
Following the termination of Russian-Ukrainian gas transit in January 2025, the importance of TurkStream has increased significantly, as it has become the only pipeline through which Russian gas supplies reach Hungary.
In the first five months of this year, the volume of Russian gas arriving via this route increased by 500 million cubic metres, reaching a total of 7.08 billion cubic metres. In addition to Hungary, Southern Europe also receives deliveries through the pipeline, with gas being partially forwarded to Central Europe from there.
In 2024, TurkStream delivered 16.6 billion cubic metres, exceeding its planned capacity of 15.7 billion. Based on current trends, Russian plans indicate that transmission volumes may increase further in 2025, provided that no new restrictions or maintenance periods are implemented.
