Gazprom has signed “road maps” with Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary to develop a pipeline for deliveries of gas from a future second leg of the Turkish Stream. This in effect revives the abandoned South Stream pipeline – but this time with a quarter less capacity, Beta is reporting, citing the Moscow-based daily Kommersant.

The newspaper states that, although such an option allows Gazprom to provide gas to the Balkans, this one will compete with the company’s Poseidon pipeline that should supply gas to southern Italy.

Gazprom and the Hungarian government signed a “road map” on the development of the country’s gas system, continues the article, while analogue documents were signed in June with Bulgaria and Serbia.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced that this entails deliveries eight billion cubic meters of gas from Turkish Stream via Serbia, the newspaper recalled, writes b92.net.

“The Bulgaria-Serbia-Hungary route in effect represents a repeat of the basic part of the South Stream gas pipeline, which was completely ready for implementation, but was abandoned in December 2013 due to Bulgaria’s position and pressure from Brussels,” the newspaper states.

According to the daily, the difference is that the planned gas pipeline through the Black Sea will not go directly to Bulgaria, but to Turkey.

“In addition, only one of the two branches of Turkish Stream, that is, 15.75 billion cubic meters, can go to the Balkans, which is a quarter less than the capacity of South Stream,” Kommersant said.

The newspaper noted that Gazprom cannot supply the Balkans from the second branch and at the same time build Poseidon. Currently, Hungary and Serbia can only receive gas supplies through Ukraine, which would force Gazprom to negotiate gas transits with Kiev after 2020, the daily added.