Turkey Seeks To Cover Nearly 30% Of Gas Demand With Own Reserves - Ministry Of Energy

DUBAI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2021) Turkey is seeking to reduce its dependence on imported gas supplies, which now cover 100% of consumption, and to provide 25-30% of the demand for natural gas with reserves found in the Black Sea shelf, Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said on Tuesday.

"Turkey is one of the largest gas consumers in the world. This year, according to our predictions, consumption will amount to 60 billion cubic meters ... Unfortunately, a huge challenge for us is that we are 100% dependent on imports. Therefore, we need to reduce this dependence," he stated during the Gastech conference.

According to Bayraktar, Turkey has developed an appropriate strategy to reduce its dependence. Special importance has been given to exploring its own gas reserves. The program began with the Mediterranean shelf.

"Then we moved to the Black Sea region. And finally, in 2020 we made a big discovery on the shelf. Reserves amount to 450 billion cubic meters of gas. We expect the first deliveries to the country's pipeline system in 2023. This is a rather difficult target for us. We hope to enter into production in 2026 and to provide about 25-30% of Turkey's gas needs," he said.

Also, as part of this strategy, the country has increased purchases of liquefied gas, and begun a number of new projects for supply to Turkish consumers and transit to Europe of pipeline gas from Russia and the Caspian region.

According to the deputy minister, Turkey can cover about 50% of its gas needs through liquefied gas infrastructure instead of pipelines, and this strategy totally pays for itself.