Turkiye ready to expand gas exports to EU but wants demand guarantee

Turkiye is prepared to increase its natural gas exports to the European Union, provided the EU offers long-term commitments to justify the necessary infrastructure investments, Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Alparslan Bayraktar, said Tuesday, Bloomberg reports.

According to the report, the EU is striving to secure alternative gas sources to replace Russian supplies that transit through Ukraine.

The option could include diverting Azerbaijani gas sold to Turkiye to Europe and substituting it with additional Russian gas sales in the Turkish market, report says.

Turkiye prefers expanding exports via Bulgaria, the report added.

“I need this guarantee from you – 10 years, 15 years, whatever it is, you need to give something,” Bayraktar told Bloomberg News in an interview.

He called “convoluted” Europe’s complex gas swap suggestion proposed to circumvent Russian gas.

Bayraktar said Ankara is open to collaborating with Azerbaijan’s national energy company, SOCAR, to increase capacity to 10 bcm, but it requires assurances about European demand.

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