Botaş, Gazprom may set up joint company: Bayraktar

ISTANBUL

Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) and Russian energy company Gazprom will set up a joint company, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has said.

Natural gas and nuclear energy have become two major issues for Türkiye in recent years, Bayraktar said, who attended the St. Petersburg International Economy Forum in Russia.

There has been intense cooperation between Türkiye and Russia in those fields, he added.

“We are now planning to establish a company in partnership with BOTAS and Gazprom at the Istanbul Financial Center,” the Turkish minister said, without providing other details.

In St. Petersburg, Bayraktar also held talks with Russian officials.

In a speech he delivered at the forum, Bayraktar noted that Türkiye’s need for electricity is growing every year.

“There is an increase of approximately 4-5 percent on the demand side each year due to the growth of our economy,” the minister said, adding that Türkiye has a tremendous renewable energy potential to meet this demand.

“We want to benefit from all our renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal and biomass. We aim to increase the renewable energy capacity to 60 gigawatts in 12 years,” Bayraktar said, noting that Türkiye ranks 11th in the world in renewable energy installed capacity.

Türkiye also needs to increase its nuclear energy capacity, Bayraktar said, recalling that the country is cooperating with the Russian Rosatom in Akkuyu, Türkiye’s first nuclear power plant.

“We have a goal of reaching a nuclear capacity of 20 gigawatts by 2050. We need additional reactors in [in the Black Sea province of] Sinop and the Thrace [region]. In the next 20 years, small modular reactors of at least 5 gigawatts will be included in Türkiye's energy mix,” he said.