World Bank approves $400 million for Turkey’s gas storage

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

After an eight-year grace period, the loan will finance the running of a gas storage facility at Tuz Gölü (Salt Lake) – one of the largest hyper-saline lakes in the world, and the second largest lake in Turkey. AA Photo

The World Bank has announced $400 million of additional financing for the first gas storage facility in Turkey’s underground salt formation.

The $400 million will be given to Turkey and will be paid back over 16 years. After an eight-year grace period, the loan will finance the running of a gas storage facility at Tuz Gölü (Salt Lake) – one of the largest hyper-saline lakes in the world, and the second largest lake in Turkey.

Turkey is second in the world after China in terms of its rising energy demand and consequently the country aims to upscale renewable energy by 30 percent by 2023.

The World Bank´s funding aims to help Turkey meet its increasing power demand by implementing critically needed gas storage and network infrastructure facilitating large-scale renewable energy generation.

Turkey´s Tuz Gölü underground gas storage facility is located in an underground salt formation close to the salt lake in south-central Turkey and upon completion, will have a storage capacity of about 960 million cubic meters of working gas and 460 million cubic meters of cushion gas (the portion of gas which is required to remain in the cavern to maintain its integrity).

The facility will have the capacity to deliver 40 million cubic meters of gas per day for up to 20 days, and can be refilled at the rate of 30 million cubic meters per day over a period of 25 days.

Currently, Turkey generates 43 percent of its energy needs from natural gas, a quarter from both coal and hydro-electricity and 7 percent from renewables.