Türkiye's natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports decreased in August 2022 compared to the same month of 2021, while oil purchases increased in the same period, according to the data from energy watchdog on Friday.

Natural gas imports fell by 7.62% to around 3.85 billion cubic meters (bcm) from approximately 4.17 bcm for the same month of 2021, Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) said in its monthly natural gas market report.

According to EPDK data, the country imported approximately 3.55 bcm of natural gas via pipelines in August, while 296 million cubic meters (mcm) was purchased as liquefied natural gas (LNG). This represented a 0.86% increase in pipeline imports and a 54.04% decrease in LNG imports.

Russia was the majority supplier, providing 2.11 bcm of natural gas to Türkiye, while Iran and Azerbaijan followed with 904 mcm and 538 mcm, respectively.

Gas imports from Russia and Iran increased by 1.54% and 0.74% in August while imports from Azerbaijan decreased by 1.53%, compared to the same period in 2021.

The country's total gas consumption also decreased by 17.68% to approximately 3.59 bcm compared to the same month of 2021.

Household consumption grew by 5.60% to 318 mcm, and the use of gas in power plants decreased by 22% to 1.90 mcm during the same period.

The natural gas volume in storage in August 2022 increased by 37.8% to around 3.71 bcm compared to 2.69 bcm in August 2021.

LPG purchases

The LPG imports, meanwhile decreased by 14.7% to 275,733 tons in August compared to the same month of 2021, according to the latest data from the energy watchdog.

The EPDK data showed the country's imports originated from Algeria, the U.S., Norway, Kazakhstan and Russia.

LPG production in August increased to 101,251 tons, marking a year-on-year rise of 18.4%.

Exports also rose to around 27,248 tons in August, showing a jump of 80.8% compared to the same month last year.

Total LPG sales in August decreased by 8.3% to around 372,236 tons, comprising 306,239 tons of autogas, 57,205 tons of bottled LPG and 8,791 tons of bulk LPG.

Oil imports up

The total oil imports of Türkiye increased by 5.60% to 4.33 million tons in August 2022, the watchdog said.

Crude oil imports, the category with the highest oil import volume, rose by 3.04% in August to 2.94 million tons.

Türkiye imported the majority of its oil and oil product needs from Russia in August, totaling 1.8 million tons. Iraq and Kazakhstan followed with 1.09 million tons and 475,161 tons, respectively.

Oil refinery product exports increased by 57% to 1.22 million tons, while output decreased by 0.02% to 3.36 million tons.

Total domestic oil product sales rose by 4.49 % year on year in August to 2.80 million tons.