Turkey’s natural gas imports hit record high

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s natural gas imports hit a record high in December, reaching above 5 billion cubic meters (bcm) for the first time ever.

According to data from the energy watchdog (EPDK), the natural gas demand increased significantly due to the harsh winter conditions and the rise in households with a natural gas heating system.
The rise in demand increased the gas imports of Turkey, which meets around 98 percent of its gas needs from abroad.

The imports of over 5 bcm gas in December 2014 marked an increase of 9.8 percent from the previous month, according to the EPDK data.

Turkey imported around 3.6 bcm of gas in December 2009, 4.2 bcm in December 2010 and 4.7 bcm in December 2011. Gas imports approached the 5 bcm mark in December 2013 at around 4.9 bcm.

Turkey imported a total of 49.2 bcm gas in 2014, marking an 8.8 percent increase from the previous year.