Türkiye is paving the way to becoming a gas hub, having recently inked four natural gas export agreements with European countries, alleviating the bloc's natural gas supply shortages derived from the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.
The country, which already exports gas via pipelines to Greece, has this year signed natural gas export agreements with Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Moldova.
The first natural gas export deal of the year was signed in January with Bulgaria to cover the export of 1.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas annually for 13 years.
After concluding negotiations with Bulgaria, Türkiye entered into an agreement with Hungary in August to export gas via pipeline.
According to the Hungarian media, Türkiye anticipates exporting 275 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas to the nation. This arrangement marks the first time that Türkiye has agreed to gas exports with a non-neighboring country.
Signing its third gas export agreement of the year with Romania, Türkiye announced it would supply up to 4 million cubic meters of natural gas per day to the country. The shipment was scheduled to begin on Oct. 1 and run until March 31, 2025.
Lastly, Türkiye has signed the fourth natural gas export agreement of the year with Moldova to export 2 million cubic meters of natural gas per day starting on Oct. 1.
Attending the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC) held in the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said: "As of today we are shipping natural gas to Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova via the Western Balkan Pipeline. We are becoming more and more a hub for natural gas."
Cenk Pala, energy advisor at the Ankara Center for Crisis and Policy Studies (ANKASAM) in his interview with Anadolu Agency (AA) Tuesday emphasized Türkiye’s ongoing efforts and role in the natural gas field.
"For the past 26-27 years, Türkiye has been working towards the goal of turning itself into a corridor between the East and West, particularly in terms of oil and natural gas, and then into a trade center, primarily with Azerbaijan. What has been signed is actually the prelude to this," he explained.
"This is a nice work. BOTAŞ (Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Corporation) is doing good things. It is opening the way for trade. It ensures the realization of this project we call the Southern Gas Corridor," he added.
While Europe is trying to cover its gas needs with liquefied natural gas, most agreements in the LNG market have already been signed he underscored adding that shipments are largely heading toward the Asian market. Therefore, according to Pala, Türkiye is the country that can respond most quickly to Europe's needs.
According to Erste Investment Oil and Gas Analyst Tamas Pletser in an e-mailed note, Türkiye can become an important hub for Europe's gas supply as it can gain access to long-term LNG sources from various markets, including Azerbaijan, Northern Iraq, Iran, Israel and even Greek Cypriot administration.
Pletser said that despite obstacles in the gas supply to Hungary in Bulgaria, the idea of Türkiye as a gas hub has grown more important because of the lack of a direct pipeline supply from Russia to Europe as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
"This plan may be revised again, I think it is highly favorable for Türkiye," Pletser added.