President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Friday that Türkiye is trying to develop into a major location for setting natural gas reference rates through energy-related activities, Azernews reports.
At a ceremony celebrating the conclusion of a project to develop a subsurface gas storage facility close to Istanbul, Erdogan stated that Türkiye’s goal is to turn the nation into a worldwide hub where the natural gas reference price is decided as soon as possible.
According to him, the country’s Trakya area in the northwest, which borders both Greece and Bulgaria, would develop into an important center for both natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a result of rising LNG production and underground gas storage, he said at the event in Silivri.
Erdogan also stated that Ankara is in communication with Moscow, a significant producer, and exporter of natural gas, and emphasized that they will take the required actions to turn Türkiye into an energy center.
With the development, the Silivri Underground Natural Gas Storage Facility is currently the largest in Europe with a capacity of 4.6 billion cubic meters (bcm), Erdogan noted, underscoring the significance of storage facilities as European countries face the possibility of an energy shortfall.
The underground facility’s total natural gas storage capacity grew by about 50% as a result of the extension, he continued, and by year’s end, the amount of gas stored had climbed from 3.2 bcm to 4.6 bcm.
Erdogan emphasized that Türkiye will continue to take all necessary steps to prevent both short- and medium-term issues brought on by the global energy crisis in Europe and long-term issues that would slow down development ambitions.
Erdogan declared earlier this year, following conversations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, that Ankara and Moscow will collaborate to develop a natural gas hub in Trakya in response to a Russian request.
The country of Türkiye consumed 60 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2017.
