Türkiye discusses financial, technical details to bring Turkmen gas to Europe
The details of the transportation of Turkmen gas via the Caspian Sea to Türkiye and then to Europe were discussed during President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Turkmenistan, where he met his Azerbaijani and Turkmen counterparts.
The President Erdogan then instructed the country’s energy minister to soon meet with the energy ministers of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to conclude the matter “within a month without any delay.”
“We have come to a decision. Accordingly, the energy ministers of the three countries, Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, will meet quickly and discuss the details of this issue,” Erdogan told journalists returning from Turkmenistan.
Erdogan said the issue was a topic discussed before, but now more technical matters were on the agenda along with how the financial process will be maintained.
Saying that Russia was benefitting from Turkmenistan’s gas, he pointed out that now the country does not have “its old comfort in selling Russian gas to Europe” and that Turkmenistan now has other opportunities to sell the natural gas to Europe directly or not.
He also noted that at the beginning of 2023, Berdimuhamedov is expected to visit Türkiye to discuss the issue.
Erdogan commented on the technical aspects, saying that the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), a critical project carrying natural gas from Azerbaijan’s gas fields to Turkish markets and eventually to Europe, has filled its entire volume, which is 32 billion cubic meters (bcm).
The 6 bcm-capacity Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) at the Türkiye-Greece border, transferring gas to Greece, Albania and Italy, is also working at full capacity, Erdoğan said, and for those reasons, “whether to establish a new line or not” will be discussed “so that steps can be taken accordingly.”
Turkmenistan, an observer member of the Organization of Turkish States, is among the world’s major gas suppliers. Turkmenistan has proven gas reserves of approximately 13.6 trillion cubic meters.
While the country produced 79.3 bcm of gas in 2021, it used 36.7 bcm to meet domestic needs. Turkmenistan exported 31.5 bcm of gas to China and 10.5 bcm of gas to Russia. The country also exports gas to Iran.
