Turkey plans to supply Europe with excess imported natural gas after liquefying it, the Republic's Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced .
"The relevant bill has been passed in the Turkish parliament. The country already has a legal basis that allows the gas to be delivered not through pipelines, but in the form of LNG. Turkey will be able to liquefy excess gas and export it to various countries,” the minister said on Haberturk TV channel.
On May 2, the Turkish parliament passed a bill that allows the sale of LNG as well as the establishment of gas liquefaction plants in the republic. The document strengthens the legislative framework for turning Turkey into an international gas hub and supplying gas through it to Europe, including from Russia.
„Today, Turkey is the fourth largest market in Europe, receiving over 50 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Thanks to investments in infrastructure, it is able to get 70-80 billion cubic meters of gas,”, noted Bayraktar. He added that for the first time Turkey has the opportunity to export natural gas to Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia.
According to the Turkish energy market regulator, in 2023 the republic imported 50.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas, of which about 30% was in the form of LNG. According to experts, in the coming years this volume will grow to 40%.
In early May, Botas and ExxonMobil signed a 10-year LNG supply agreement. At the current price level, as experts note, the amount of the contract is estimated at 1.1 billion dollars per year, the annual volume of LNG supplies will be 2.5 million tons. Bayraktar previously spoke of Turkey's plans to diversify its gas supply and create a “new portfolio” from gas supplies. suppliers before long-term gas supply agreements with Russia expire in 2025 and with Iran in 2026.