Türkiye ready to help transfer gas to Europe: Energy Minister
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez speaks at the 4th Turkish-German Energy Forum held in Berlin, Germany, Oct. 11, 2022. (AA Photo)


Many Southeast European countries have been in contact with Türkiye in order to meet their gas demands, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez said Tuesday.

Speaking at the 4th Turkish-German Energy Forum in Berlin, Dönmez said that Türkiye plays an important role in the transportation of energy resources in its nearby geography to countries in need.

"Türkiye is ready to do its best to deliver the natural resources of the Caspian region, especially the natural gas of Turkmenistan, the Eastern Mediterranean region, especially the natural gas of Israel, and the natural resources of Iraq in the long term to our country and to the markets through our country," Dönmez said.

Underlining that Türkiye not only provides its own energy supply security but also plays an important role in the transportation of energy resources in its nearby geography to countries where there is demand, Dönmez said critical energy projects such as the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipelines have been realized thanks to the contributions and commitment of the country.

"All these projects have been operating without any problems since the day they came into operation, despite the global negativities," he said.

Stating that more gas should be supplied to the market to help end the natural gas crisis hitting the world, particularly in Europe, Dönmez said: "Considering Türkiye’s success in international energy projects, its reliability as an energy partner, and its advanced natural gas infrastructure, our country can play critical roles in the delivery of natural gas from neighboring countries to markets in the West, as well as in the future."

The minister highlighted the problems Europe is facing in terms of energy supply security and said that the cost it has to endure because of this situation is obvious.

"Türkiye made great efforts to diversify import routes in energy both to ensure energy supply security and to supply energy at more competitive prices. We increased the capacity and number of our LNG terminals. Also, we increased our natural gas storage capacity and we continue to increase it. We will commission the third FSRU in 2023," Dönmez explained.

He added that Türkiye and Germany signed a letter of intent to develop green hydrogen cooperation.