Tender for new natural gas depository begins

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) started a tender for a project to raise the capacity of the North Marmara natural gas depository, according to a statement in the Official Gazette today. The project is planned to be completed in two stages ending in 2019, thus Turkey’s natural gas storage capacity is to increase to around 10 percent of its annual gas consumption, which was over 45 billion cubic meters (bcm) last year, sector representatives say.

TPAO put the Silivri facilities into service in 2007, with an initial gas storage capacity of 1.9 bcm, then increasing its capacity to 2.6 bcm. Turkey’s state-run gas pipeline company, BOTAŞ, and China’s Tianchen Engineering (TCC) signed a $559 million deal to build a 1 bcm gas depository under Turkey’s Lake Tuz in Central Anatolia in 2011.

Turkey’s underground depository still had the sufficient means to provide gas in the event of a disruption to
the gas flow, top Turkish officials said earlier. The Turkish Energy Ministry estimates the total capacity will increase to over 10 percent of annual gas consumption.