Türkiye’s natural gas imports decreased by 6.07% in December 2022 compared to the same month in 2021, according to data from the energy watchdog on Monday, while the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports were up 48.6% in the same period.
Natural gas imports in December last year fell to around 5.80 billion cubic meters (bcm) from approximately 6.18 bcm in the same month of 2021, Türkiye’s Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) said in its monthly natural gas market report.
According to EPDK data, the country imported approximately 3.43 bcm of natural gas via pipelines in December, while 2.37 million cubic meters (mcm) were purchased as LNG. This represented a 6.44% decrease in pipeline imports and a 5.53% decrease in LNG imports.
Russia was the majority supplier, providing 2.04 bcm of natural gas to Türkiye, while Iran and Azerbaijan followed with 800 mcm and 784 mcm, respectively.
Gas imports in December from Qatar and Spain fell by 100%, and imports from Egypt and the United States dropped by 37.9% and 31.7%, respectively, relative to December 2021.
The country’s total gas consumption in December also contracted by 15.7% to approximately 5.23 bcm compared to the same month in 2021.
Household consumption dropped by 8.82% to 2.07 bcm, and gas usage in power plants decreased by 19.9% over the same period.
The natural gas storage volume in December last year increased by 178.6% to around 5.33 bcm, compared to 1.91 bcm in December 2021.
LPG imports
The data showed that the country’s LPG imports increased by 48.6% to 365,495 tons in December 2022 compared to the same month in 2021.
The country’s imports originated from the U.S., Algeria, Russia, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Romania and Norway.
LPG production in December also decreased to 76,971 tons, marking a year-on-year decrease of 10.8%.
Additionally, exports rose to around 34,810 tons in December, showing an increase of 30.14% compared to last year.
Total LPG sales in December increased by 0.12% to around 356,948 tons, comprising 267,900 tons of autogas, 40,297 tons of bottled LPG, and 48,750 tons of bulk LPG.