Turkey has no gas problem: Minister

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

'We don’t have any problem with gas since we have a sufficient amount of supply,’ Energy Minister Taner Yıldız says at the conference in Istanbul. AA photo

Turkey has no natural gas supply problem, Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said yesterday, referring to rumors claiming companies are unable to make plans for 2013 due to a lack of gas.

“If there is a company that needs natural gas then they should apply to BOTAŞ or the ministry. We don’t have any problem with gas since we have a sufficient amount of supply,” Yıldız said at the Second Turkish-German Renewable Energy Cooperation Forum in Istanbul.

Yıldız also praised the investment conditions in Turkey and invited investors to the country. “Sustainable political stability, concrete energy policies and strategies are elements that put Turkey in a desirable position,” the minister said.

On renewable energy, Yıldız said the percentage of renewable energy resources in Turkey hovered around 25-26 percent.

“A rate of 30 percent is a realistic target for us. We have more than twice the amount of resources compared to European Union countries.”

Yıldız also said the government’s energy projects respected the protection of the environment, adding that Germany and Turkey had a lot to learn from each other on renewable energy.