Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar announced that 40 LNG cargoes, totaling approximately 4 billion cubic meters per year, will be sent to Turkey for 10 years starting from 2027, within the scope of the long-term LNG agreement between Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) and Shell.
Bayraktar met with Shell CEO Wael Sawan at the Ministry within the scope of the program to sign the LNG agreement between BOTAŞ and Shell.
In his statement following the meeting, Bayraktar said that Turkey is in a position to receive half of its annual natural gas needs via LNG ships, and that work is being carried out with both neighboring countries and international companies to create a balanced supply portfolio in this context.
Bayraktar stated that pipeline gas and LNG supply agreements with Azerbaijan and Algeria have been renewed and that Turkey currently trades natural gas with 34 countries, adding, “BOTAŞ, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is by far the largest company in Turkey with sales of $26.5 billion in 2023.”
Bayraktar, who announced that a long-term LNG agreement will be signed between BOTAŞ and Shell, which has half a century of experience in line with the diversification of the natural gas supply portfolio, said, “In this context, a total of 40 LNG cargoes of approximately 4 billion cubic meters per year will be delivered to our country for a period covering 10 years starting from 2027.”
Bayraktar, who noted that this agreement is important in terms of offering additional regional and global trade opportunities beyond just a purchase-sale transaction between the two companies, with options such as receiving from the filling port and unloading at European terminals, noted the following:
“We are also pleased that BOTAŞ will acquire different and critical capabilities in the field of LNG transportation by ships within the scope of the agreement. Thus, BOTAŞ will further strengthen and expand its effective role in regional natural gas trade. In addition, I would like to express our satisfaction with the joint work carried out in the oil and natural gas fields in line with the memorandum of understanding signed between TPAO and Shell on July 11, 2023. We want to make this cooperation even more concrete. We continue to intend to further advance our cooperation both domestically and internationally.”
TURKEY’S INFRASTRUCTURE CAN PROVIDE 80 BILLION CUBIC METERS OF GAS ANNUALLY
Bayraktar emphasized that Turkey is going through a rapid energy transformation and that the sanctions and new projects in energy offer significant opportunities to foreign investors, and said, “I believe that Turkey’s wind and solar potential will require us to work together carefully for Shell’s ambitious goals in this regard, and God willing, we will be signing investments related to renewable projects at such an event in the future.”
Bayraktar pointed out that Turkey’s investments in natural gas have increased in recent years and said that they are in a position to easily provide an annual natural gas supply of 70-80 billion cubic meters with infrastructure investments.
Bayraktar also drew attention to the fact that Turkey has the opportunity to export gas through pipelines extending to Europe, and reminded that thanks to this, Turkey now exports natural gas to neighboring Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Serbia, with which it does not share a common border.
TURKEY’S DAILY NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION EXCEEDED 7.6 MILLION CUBIC METERS
Minister Bayraktar stated that Turkey has the 4th largest natural gas market in Europe with an annual consumption of 51 billion cubic meters.
Underlining that 2002 was an important milestone for natural gas in Turkey, Bayraktar said, “With the vision set forth by our President, natural gas, which was used in only 5 provinces, has now reached 81 provinces, 862 settlements and 212 Organized Industrial Zones. Today, we have a daily production of over 7.5 million cubic meters of natural gas as Turkey, and we produce the gas needs of 3.2 million households ourselves.”
Bayraktar noted that Turkey broke a daily natural gas production record on August 15, reaching 7 million 609 thousand cubic meters, while production from the Sakarya Gas Field alone reached an all-time high of 6 million 146 thousand cubic meters on August 15.
Bayraktar, who stated that the floating production storage and discharge platform (FPSO) that set out from Singapore will reach Turkey at the end of this month, said, “After the activation procedures, this facility will produce 10 million cubic meters of gas from the Sakarya Gas Field daily, which will meet the gas needs of 4.5 million households for 20 years.”
Shell CEO Sawan also emphasized that the agreement was built on the trust relationship between BOTAŞ, Shell and the Ministry, and expressed his gratitude to everyone who contributed to the agreement.
Sawan said that as a reliable energy supplier, they are “looking forward” to new opportunities to support Turkey’s national energy strategy and meet the growing LNG demand.
Following the speech, a long-term LNG agreement was signed between BOTAŞ and Shell.
