Türkiye’s natural gas demand is expected to increase and reach around 53 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2024, according to Yaşar Arslan, president of the Natural Gas Distribution Companies' Association of Türkiye (GAZBIR), on Sunday.

Arslan told Anadolu Agency (AA) that natural gas consumption this year may remain below the 56 billion cubic meters level announced by the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) in January.

Furthermore, he noted they observed an annual increase of approximately 1 billion cubic meters in residential natural gas consumption attributing it to the growing accessibility of natural gas across the country. As a result, Arslan projected that residential natural gas consumption would reach 16-17 billion cubic meters this year.

"I estimate that Turkiye’s natural gas demand in 2024 will be around 53 bcm, with the reduction of the effects of the earthquake disaster, the effect of new consumers and the air temperatures remaining at seasonal norms compared to this year," he said.

Arslan also highlighted that the commissioning of the Sakarya natural gas field resulted in the production of approximately 75 million cubic meters (mcm) in September alone, which corresponds to 68% of the total production.

He stated that the target is to produce 10 mcm of natural gas per day in phase one in 2023, 40 mcm per day in phase two in 2025, and 60 mcm per day in phase three in 2028.

Referring to the investments to be made in natural gas infrastructure in Turkiye next year, Arslan said: "We have an investment forecast of over TL 25 billion in 2024. With these investments, gas supply is planned for nearly 50 new residential areas."

Arslan also pointed out the growth in natural gas distribution infrastructure and noted that natural gas expansion investments, which have been continuing for five to six years under the coordination of the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry and EMRA, have continued increasing in 2023.

Stating that the target of "90 new residential areas" was exceeded this year despite the disruptions in the investment programs for 11 provinces impacted by Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes, Arslan informed that the number of areas supplied with natural gas would exceed 830 by the end of the year.

He also said that 72 natural gas distribution companies operating in 81 provinces invested over TL 17 billion this year and explained that additional network investments in the earthquake zone continue without slowing down.

The total length of the distribution network is expected to reach 200,000 kilometers (124,274 miles) by the year-end, according to Arslan, with which Turkiye would surpass Poland and become the country with the fourth longest network in Europe.

"With new investments, the opportunity to access natural gas increases every year. As of the end of 2023, 84% of Turkiye’s population has access to natural gas," Arslan said.

"In the last 10 years, an average of around 1 million new subscribers have been included in the system annually. More than 1 million new users turned to using natural gas in 2023," he said.

"With a total of 20.7 million natural gas subscribers, we have become the third largest industry in Europe," he concluded.