Turkiye postpones gas summit after earthquake

66 year-old Murat Vural is being rescued under rubbles of a collapsed building 103 hours after 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes hit Turkiye’s Gaziantep ( Adsız Günebakan – Anadolu Agency )

Turkiye has postponed a natural gas summit due to be held on 14-15 February until 22 March, an energy official said today, after a major earthquake hit its southeastern region, Reuters reports.

Setting up a gas hub in Turkiye was first proposed by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin after explosions damaged Russia’s Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea.

Turkiye currently imports all its gas needs and has extensive LNG import infrastructure. Ankara believes it can leverage its existing and new trade relations to become a gas hub.

Ankara also plans to start offshore gas production this year and ramp-up output over the next few years.

Separately, the Kremlin said yesterday that the implementation of the Turkish hub had been delayed.

Some Western capitals were concerned that a Turkish hub including Russian gas could allow Moscow to mask exports that are sanctioned by the West over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

READ: Turkiye may open border to Assad held area in Syria

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