Türkiye in talks with Oman for natural gas

ANKARA

Türkiye is holding talks with Oman for natural gas trade, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez has said.
The minister recalled he engaged in diplomatic efforts for energy last month, visiting several countries amid the sharp increase in global energy prices.

“In Oman, we held talks on natural gas trade and they look favorably opon the issue. We will act when commercial conditions are appropriate,” Dönmez told reporters.

The minister noted that he attended the G7 energy ministers meeting in Indonesia and had meetings with officials from other countries on the sidelines of the event.

“Later, I met with Modh Bakke Salleh Chairman of Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) in Malaysia. This was an important meeting. We agree to boost cooperation between the two countries. We will bolster efforts in the field of hydrocarbon exploration.”

Türkiye’s natural gas imports declined by 5.64 percent on an annual basis 3.84 billion cubic meters in June, according to the latest data from the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK).

The country’s consumption of natural gas fell more than 21 percent in the month from a year ago to 3.05 billion cubic meters.
Natural gas storage volume rose by 4.54 percent to 2.7 billion cubic meters.

Some 3.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas were imported through pipelines, down 13.5 percent. The country boosted its purchase of LNG by 102 percent to 561 million tons.

Russia was the largest supplier of natural gas at 1.7 billion cubic meters, but imports from this country fell nearly 30 percent year-on-year, while Iran’s share was 22.2 percent, or 855 million cubic meters, down from 867 million cubic meters in June 2021.

Türkiye boosted its natural gas imports from the U.S. by 100 percent year-on-year to 299 million cubic meters and imports from Azerbaijan rose by 40 percent to 729 million cubic meters.

Natural gas imports amounted to 30.8 billion cubic meters in the first half of 2022, rising 1.7 percent year-on-year, while domestic consumption inched up 0.45 percent to around 32 billion cubic meters.

In the latest Medium-Term Program, which includes macroeconomic forecasts and estimates for 2023-2025, the government foresees that Türkiye’s energy import will amount to $103.5 billion in 2022.

The country’s energy import bill is expected to decline to $85billion next year and further down to $76.3 billion in 2024, according to the program. In 2025, Türkiye is expected to spend $70.9 billion on energy imports, the government forecasts.