The Turkish port of Ceyhan has the potential to become a global energy hub, and the "Development Road" project, which will connect Iraq to Europe via Turkey, could be transformed into a large-scale "energy road" for the transport of oil, natural gas and electricity. This was stated by Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar, quoted by the "Hürriyet" newspaper, BTA reports.
According to him, if the transport corridor is supplemented with the necessary energy infrastructure, the transfer of oil and natural gas along the route could reach an annual value of about 80 billion dollars.
Bayraktar made the statement after a meeting in Ankara with Iraqi Oil Minister Basim Muhammad Hudeir. According to him, energy relations between Turkey and Iraq are entering a new and stronger stage.
The Turkish minister indicated that the route could reach a capacity to transfer up to 2.5 million barrels of oil per day. Iraq currently produces about 4 million barrels of oil per day, and Kuwait - about 2 million barrels. According to “Hürriyet“ redirecting part of this production to the new route could generate between 65 and 70 billion dollars annually from oil alone.
The “Development Road“ project could also offer an alternative route for natural gas exports to Europe, especially to Qatar. Currently, the country's exports depend mainly on liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers and passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the publication notes.
“If Qatari gas reaches Turkey via Iraq via this energy route, some of it could remain for domestic consumption and some could be exported to Europe. Together with oil, this forms an economic potential of $80 billion per year“, Bayraktar said.
Turkey's vision foresees, with the growing importance of energy supply security, extending the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline to Basra and increasing its capacity to create a strong alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.
Bayraktar added that the Turkish State Petroleum Company aims to take a more active position in the fields around Kirkuk and in other regions of Iraq. The ambition is to achieve deliveries of one million barrels of crude oil and increase trade volume, thus establishing Ceyhan as a global energy hub.
The roadmap of the “Development Road” project envisages that the main capacities of the port, as well as the first connecting sections of the railway and highway, will be put into operation during the first phase, covering the period 2028-2031.
In the second phase, which is planned for the period 2033-2050, it is planned to expand the capacity for freight and passenger transport and build accompanying industrial zones.