SOCHI, September 30. /TASS/. The Russian government has instructed the Energy Ministry to prepare a draft intergovernmental agreement on the Turkish Stream project by October 10, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday in an interview to Rossiya 24 TV channel.

"The goal is to prepare and coordinate the appropriate document before the start of the World Energy Congress, which will be held in Istanbul on October 10-12," he noted.

Novak said earlier that the road map on the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline project would be agreed after the intergovernmental agreement is ready. According to Novak, "all necessary permits required both eminently for the economic zone and for territorial waters, are expected to be obtained in the nearest future."

Earlier Novak said that the draft intergovernmental agreement was expected to be agreed and signed in October 2016. Also, he said, the construction of the first line of the Turkish Stream would start after obtainment of all required construction and survey permits for Turkish territorial waters. Russia and Turkey also intend to set up a working group for the Turkish Stream, he added.

Earlier Russia’s Gazprom obtained first permits granted by Turkish authorities within the Turkish Stream project, which allow kicking start to the construction of the pipeline.

The Turkish Stream pipeline was announced by the Russian authorities in December 2014 as a replacement for the South Stream pipeline. It was planned that the marine section of Turkish Stream would comprise four lines with the capacity of 15.75 bln cubic meters each. The pipeline is to run 660 km in the old South Stream corridor and 250 km in the new corridor in the direction of the European part of Turkey. The project’s total cost was estimated at €11.4 bln , with the cost of the first line amounting to €4.3 bln.

Natural gas supplies through the first line of the pipeline are planned for meeting the demand of the growing Turkish market. On December 1, 2014, Russia’s natural gas monopoly Gazprom and Turkish company Botas signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline with the capacity of 63 bln cubic meters of gas per year from Russia to Turkey across the Black Sea. In 2015, Russia’s Energy Minister Novak said that at the first stage it was planned to lay two branches of the pipeline.