Türkiye is well on its way to becoming part of the club of nations using nuclear technology for peaceful purposes amid its efforts to diversify energy resources, according to an expert.

Adnan Shihab-Eldin, former acting secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), spoke to Daily Sabah in Istanbul Friday as part of the Future Leaders Executive Program (FLEP). The event was organized by the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF), the umbrella youth group of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Member states organize events to promote international cooperation between the youth and with the participation of governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) worldwide with a vision of economic and cultural development.

Türkiye is making significant strides toward achieving a diverse energy mix, Shihab-Eldin said and pointed out that this is the most efficient and logical way to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Shihab-Eldin emphasized the importance of exploring and deploying all possible decarbonization technologies to achieve low carbon or net zero emission targets by 2050.

He commended Türkiye's efforts to pursue a diverse energy mix that includes nuclear power, renewables and natural gas with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). He highlighted the recent milestone of Türkiye receiving the first nuclear fuel shipment for its first nuclear reactor, marking the country's progress in becoming part of the nuclear club of nations for peaceful purposes.

"Türkiye has thought about nuclear for a long time but the fact that it continued to explore it, and when the opportunity came, they went ahead decisively with the plans, cooperating with Russia and benefiting from what Russia is offering," he said.

"We saw the celebration on the occasion of the arrival of the first nuclear fuel shipment for the first reactor when it arrived. That means Türkiye is well underway to become part of the nuclear club of nations for peaceful purposes. And in that, Türkiye is helping itself not rely on only one source or one resource."

With a ceremony last week attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin online, Türkiye’s first nuclear plant and a joint Russia-Türkiye project, Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), received the initial batch of nuclear fuel.

"Türkiye has risen to the league of countries with nuclear power in the world, albeit after a 60-year delay," the president said at the ceremony.

Erdoğan said the EU eliminates roadblocks by accepting nuclear energy as green energy, adding: "We made our country part of this development with Akkuyu."

Akkuyu NPP is Türkiye's "biggest joint investment" with Russia, Erdoğan said.

The plant will be fully operational by 2028 and supply 10% of Türkiye’s electricity consumption.

Renewables

Shihab-Eldin, meanwhile, also noted Türkiye's vast potential for renewables, such as wind and solar, and urged the country to deploy these resources fully as part of a portfolio of all available competitive resources. However, he cautioned against relying solely on renewables, citing the example of Germany, which ended up with the most expensive average cost of electricity per kilowatt-hour (KWh) by relying only on renewable sources.

The former OPEC official also suggested that Türkiye should explore and deploy its available gas resources, whether it is in the Black Sea or the Mediterranean. He emphasized the need to think ahead about combining gas deployment with decarbonization, as there is no escape from the fact that if we want to continue to use fossil fuels and meet the Paris Agreement goal at the same time, we have to decarbonize whatever fossil fuels we use, whether oil or gas.

Türkiye on April 20 started natural gas production from a vast reserve – around 710 billion cubic meters (bcm) - discovered in the Black Sea.

According to experts, 10 million cubic meters of gas per day in the first phase would meet around 6% of Türkiye's annual consumption, which stands at 60 bcm.

It will deliver a boost to the economy and cover a significant part of Türkiye’s energy needs, reducing its dependence on foreign sources while strengthening its hand in contracts with major gas-supplying countries.

Global energy market

Türkiye’s strategic position at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia means that the country could become a key player in the global energy market, according to Shihab-Eldin.

He went on to explain how Türkiye could benefit from its position by building the necessary infrastructure for energy imports, exports, pipelines and tankers. "Hydrogen is coming on the scene also because it is going to be an important clean fuel substituting for fossil fuel," he said. "So Türkiye could position itself also as a hub for blue and green hydrogen."

Shihab-Eldin added that many countries are trying to position themselves as a hub for hydrogen, including the Netherlands, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. However, Türkiye's central location could give it an advantage over its competitors.

Patrick Graichen, the undersecretary of the German Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection, most recently said that his country is working on pipelines to transport green hydrogen to be produced in Türkiye to his country.

"By using Türkiye’s enormous solar and wind energy potential in green hydrogen production, the green hydrogen produced will be transported from Türkiye to Germany. We are working on transporting it through pipelines to be built," Graichen told Anadolu Agency (AA) earlier.

While Türkiye currently relies heavily on energy imports, Shihab-Eldin believes that the country has the potential to become a significant energy producer in the future.

Oil prices

Global oil prices are expected to continue to fluctuate, but experts in the industry are not too worried about the potential spikes in prices. Shihab-Eldin explained that even if prices rise to unreasonable levels, they tend to come down very quickly.

"The fair average, for consumers and producers, has been somewhere around $70 to $90," Shihab-Eldin said. "That is what everybody is comfortable with right now. If you are a consumer, you want the price to be $70 or below, if you are a producer, you want the price to be $90 and above. But that’s the range of the comfort zone for everybody."

He added that when he was with the OPEC, they used to talk about a price band that was comfortable for everyone, which was between $22 to $28. Adjusting for inflation, that range now translates to $70 to $90.

Shihab-Eldin emphasized the importance of having spare capacity to cope with any unexpected surge in demand in the future. "You should have some spare capacity of a few million barrels per day. And the responsibility to provide sufficient spare capacity is taken on by OPEC and the Gulf countries specifically under the leadership of Saudi Arabia – which is where most of the spare capacity exists."

He noted that the OPEC and OPEC+ are playing an effective role in ensuring that there is always enough supply and that there is spare capacity to respond to shortages due to war, weather, industrial accidents or other factors.