According to Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) data, Türkiye’s natural gas imports were recorded as 19.2 billion cubic meters in the first quarter of the year. In the same period, imports of oil and petroleum products amounted to 3.32 million tons.
In January, the USA ranked first in natural gas imports with a share of approximately 35.7 percent, while Russia had a share of approximately 35 percent and Azerbaijan had a share of 13.4 percent. While the USA maintained its leadership with a 27.2 percent share in February, Russia rose to first place in March.
In imports of oil and petroleum products, Russia maintained its position as the main supplier, while Iraq, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia also took a significant share.
In January, Russia met approximately 49.7 percent of total oil imports, while Iraq received a share of 14 percent and Saudi Arabia received a share of over 9 percent. While the shares of Iraq and Kazakhstan increased in February, Russia ranked first with a share of approximately 49.6 percent in March.
At a time when disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20 percent of global energy trade passes, increase supply security concerns, Turkey does not experience any significant problems in the supply of natural gas and crude oil with its diversified supply structure, and serves as an alternative route in regional energy flows.
CEYHAN TERMINAL PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN GLOBAL OIL FLOW
In this context, Ceyhan Terminal, which is one of the main exit points through which Iraqi and Azerbaijani oil is opened to global markets, stands out.
Turkey, which imports oil largely by sea, is becoming the strategic center where regional oil flows are delivered to world markets with the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline and the Turkey-Iraq Crude Oil Pipeline.
While Azerbaijani oil is transported to Ceyhan Terminal via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Line and shipped from there to global markets by tankers, this line serves as an alternative corridor that reduces dependence on Russia not only for Azerbaijan but also for producers such as Kazakhstan.
According to BOTAŞ data, while approximately 30.9 million barrels of oil were transported in the first 2 months of the year through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline, which has an annual capacity of 50 million tons, the line also stands out as the critical route that transports Caspian oil to global markets via the route outside Russia and Iran.
The Türkiye-Iraq Crude Oil Pipeline, which carries Iraqi oil to world markets via Ceyhan, also plays an important role in this flow.
The daily capacity of the Türkiye-Iraq Crude Oil Pipeline, which extends from Kirkuk to Ceyhan and was re-commissioned in March this year, is approximately 1.5 million barrels. With the resumption of shipment from the line, exports are planned to be increased to 170 thousand barrels per day in the first stage, and then to 250 thousand barrels, while this flow strengthens Türkiye’s role in the oil coming from the north reaching the Mediterranean.
STRONG SUPPORT FROM Türkiye TO EUROPE’S NATURAL GAS SUPPLY SECURITY
Türkiye, which supplies natural gas from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran through international pipelines, reinforces its position as a central country in this field.
While gas is supplied directly to Türkiye from Russia via Blue Stream with an annual capacity of 16 billion cubic meters, TurkStream consists of two parallel lines with a total capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters. While one of these lines serves Türkiye’s domestic consumption, the other line is used for gas shipment to Southern and Southeastern Europe.
While natural gas from Azerbaijan is transported to Türkiye via the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum Natural Gas Pipeline with an annual capacity of approximately 24 billion cubic meters, this line constitutes the first link of the Southern Gas Corridor.
While the gas reaching Türkiye through this line is transmitted to the west via the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), shipment to Europe is carried out via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
TANAP, which extends throughout Türkiye, operates with an annual capacity of approximately 16 billion cubic meters. Approximately 6 billion cubic meters of this capacity is allocated for Türkiye’s domestic consumption, while 10 billion cubic meters is directed to Europe. Gas transported via TANAP reaches the European market by connecting with TAP at the Türkiye-Greece border.
While TAP operates with an annual capacity of approximately 10 billion cubic meters, the capacity of the line can technically be increased up to 20 billion cubic meters. Thanks to the line integrated into the Italian natural gas network, Azerbaijani gas can be shipped to different regions of Europe via exit points in Italy.
In addition, the Iğdır-Nakhchivan Natural Gas Pipeline was put into operation last year as one of the last links of the energy cooperation between Türkiye and Azerbaijan. With the line, which has a daily capacity of approximately 2 million cubic meters, it is aimed to meet Nakhchivan’s natural gas needs through Türkiye, while the region’s gas dependence on Iran is significantly reduced.
Natural gas flow from Iran to Türkiye is provided through the Iran-Türkiye Natural Gas Pipeline. Through this line, which has an annual technical capacity of approximately 14 billion cubic meters, it is envisaged to supply up to 9.6 billion cubic meters of gas annually within the scope of Türkiye’s long-term agreement with Iran.
