Saros FSRU to come online next month: Minister

ANKARA

The Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) at the Saros Bay will begin operations in January 2023, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez has said, noting that natural gas consumption will be lower this year.

Talks with Oman on purchasing liquefied natural gas (LNG) are still underway, Dönmez told reporters following a cabinet meeting. “Talks are going well.”

Natural gas consumption is expected to be around 10 to 12 percent lower this year compared with 2021, Dönmez said, citing milder weather as the reason.

Last year, 59.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas were consumed in Türkiye, up 24 percent from 2020.

The latest report from the energy market regulator EPDK showed that the country’s natural gas imports declined by 20.6 percent in September from a year ago to 3.4 billion cubic meters.

In the first nine months of 2022, Türkiye imported 41.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas, a 3 percent decline from the same period of 2021.

Domestic natural gas consumption amounted to 3.2 billion cubic meters in September, down nearly 22 percent from a year ago.

Household consumption increased by 2.5 percent on an annual basis to 312 million cubic meters, while the industry sector reduced its use of natural gas by 19 percent to 1.03 billion cubic meters.

In the first nine months of 2022, Türkiye imported 41.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas, a 3 percent decline from the same period of 2021.

The share of renewable in electricity generation was bigger this year, Dönmez said, adding that due to the drought natural gas was used to produce power.

Last month, the minister announced that Türkiye may receive natural gas from Indonesia and Malaysia. Dönmez traveled to Indonesia to attend G20 energy ministers gathering earlier this year, where he had talks with officials.

Dönmez also told reporters that the TurkStream pipeline works at almost full capacity.

The TurkStream, which runs over 900 kilometers through the Black Sea, delivers Russian natural gas to shore in Türkiye’s Thrace region.

“There is no difference between the capacity stated in the contract and the pipeline’s capacity,” Dönmez said.

Meanwhile, Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati unveiled that the government spend allocated a total of 530 billion Turkish Liras for electricity and natural gas subsidies for 2023.