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Türkiye has been affected by the energy crisis, yet in contrast to Europe, it is not expected to face any disruptions this winter as long as gas suppliers follow through on their pledges, the country’s energy chief said on Saturday.
Fears in Europe have increased over a potentially bleak winter after Russia announced it was keeping its main gas pipeline to Germany shut. Power costs have rocketed in the last year, driven by record gas prices as Moscow curbed supply, blaming cuts on technical issues and Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.
European governments have accused Moscow of using energy as blackmail, in retaliation for Western support for Ukraine. Russian gas pipeline deliveries via three main routes to Europe have fallen by almost 90% in the last 12 months, Refinitiv data show.
“Europe is going through a serious bottleneck in both supply and pricing,” Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez told an event in the northwestern province of Bilecik.
“If natural gas suppliers comply with their shipment schedules, I hope we will go through this winter without any problems. Yet, unfortunately, we are also adversely affected by the developments in the world in terms of prices,” Dönmez said.
The minister’s remarks reaffirm earlier statements by top Turkish officials, who have been giving reassurance that no disruptions to gas supply were expected this winter.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last week said he did not expect Türkiye to experience any energy shortages this year, as he blamed Europe’s energy crisis on the sanctions imposed on Russia.
“Europe is actually reaping what it sowed,” Erdoğan said adding that sanctions drove Russian President Vladimir Putin to retaliate using energy supplies.
“I think Europe will experience serious problems this winter. We do not have such a problem,” he stressed.
Storage facilities near full capacity
Türkiye’s underground natural gas storage is expected to reach its full capacity by the end of the month. The volume at its underground facilities will have reached 5.6 billion cubic meters (bcm) – some 10% of Türkiye’s annual gas consumption.
The country has two facilities – the Silivri underground natural gas storage facility and the salt caverns at the Tüz Gölü (Lake Tuz) underground natural gas storage facility. Most of the gas is at the Silivri facility, where recent upgrades raised the storage capacity by almost 50% to 4.6 bcm from 3.2 bcm. The two facilities will hold enough gas to cover needs for more than a month.
In an effort to diversify its energy sources, officials have said Türkiye has acquired sufficient supplies to cope with demand. The country imports natural gas from Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia through pipelines, and buys liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar, Nigeria, Norway, Algeria and the U.S.
“We are in a very good position with our pipelines, LNG and FSRU (floating storage and regasification unit) facilities and underground natural gas storage facilities,” said Dönmez.
Türkiye currently hosts four LNG terminals. A fifth terminal is under construction in Saros in the Edirne province, which should take 12 months to complete. An FSRU is also an option that is in the works for use as a backup.
The country is also preparing to use its own natural gas it discovered in the Black Sea as soon as the first quarter of 2023.
Pipes are being laid for an underwater pipeline network that will transport onshore the 540 bcm of gas reserve that was gradually discovered in the Black Sea since August 2020. It marks Türkiye’s largest-ever natural gas discovery.
Türkiye has tried to steer a middle course between Moscow and Kyiv and has pursued intense diplomatic efforts to end the war that has killed tens of thousands and forced more than 10 million Ukrainians from their homes.
Türkiye has criticized Moscow’s invasion and provided Ukraine with arms, including drones, which played a significant role in deterring a Russian advance early in the conflict, while refusing to join the West in imposing sanctions on Russia – a stance it says has helped its mediation efforts reap results.
Subsidizing households’ bills
Energy woes in Europe keep getting worse. Benchmark gas prices have surged about 340% in a year and jumped even further after Russia’s state-controlled Gazprom last week said it would indefinitely extend a shutdown to the major Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.
European Union leaders are proposing emergency measures including skimming from energy companies’ profits, incentivizing power saving to a price cap on Russian gas.
Putin threatened to sever supplies if such limits were imposed, warning the West it would freeze like the wolf’s tail in a famous Russian fairy tale.
To help households cope with rising costs, Türkiye in 2021 introduced fuel, electricity and gas subsidies worth TL 200 billion, with more than TL 300 billion seen this year, yet energy costs have risen much faster than anticipated.
The government had been subsidizing around 80% of a natural gas bill through various supports, Dönmez said.
“We continue to increase our subsidies, in other words, our support to citizens, in order to minimize the impact of the increase on our citizens. We apply an 80% subsidy on natural gas. In other words, we meet TL 80 of a TL 100 bill as the state,” the minister noted.
Türkiye increasingly relies on Russia for trade and tourism. Russian gas covers almost half of Turkish energy needs, and Russia’s atomic agency is building Türkiye’s first nuclear power plant.
Türkiye’s annual gas consumption rose from 48 bcm in 2020 to a record 60 bcm in 2021 and is expected to reach 62 bcm to 63 bcm this year, according to official figures.
Türkiye pledged to slowly transition to paying for the Russian imports with rubles at a summit between Erdoğan and Putin in Sochi last month.
Analysts believe the deal will ensure that Russia will continue to supply Türkiye with gas through the TurkStream pipeline running under the Black Sea.
