Turkish Energy Ministry: Ankara, Moscow can mull discount for Russian gas

“During the visit of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Russia, Moscow and Ankara can discuss the discount for Russian gas supplied to the country,” the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources told Trend Aug. 9.

The issue of a discount for Russian gas supplied to Turkey has been on the agenda for a long time, said the ministry.

The ministry also noted that apart from this issue, during Erdogan’s visit to Russia, the sides will also discuss such important energy projects as the construction of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline and the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant.

According to Turkish media, on March 18, 2015, Turkey’s Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS) rejected Russia's gas offer, since it demanded additional concessions from Turkey on construction of the Turkish Stream pipeline.

Afterwards, Turkey appealed to the International Court of Arbitration Oct. 26, 2015, over the prices for Russian gas supplied to the country.

Turkey’s private companies have been paying $390 per 1,000 cubic meters of Russian gas since January 2015, according to Turkish media.

In January-May 2016, Turkey imported 10.14 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia versus 11.22 billion cubic meters in the same period of 2015.

The country imported 26.78 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia in 2015 versus almost 27 billion cubic meters in 2014, according to the Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK).

Russia’s share in the total volume of Turkey’s gas import was 50.84 percent in January-May 2016.

Russia supplies gas to Turkey via the Blue Stream and the Trans-Balkan pipelines. Blue Stream is a major trans-Black Sea gas pipeline with the capacity of 16 billion cubic meters per year that carries natural gas from Russia into Turkey.

Currently, Turkey also imports gas from Iran, Azerbaijan, Algeria and Nigeria. Moreover, Ankara and Doha (Qatar) signed an agreement on the supply of 1.2 billion cubic meters of liquefied gas to Turkey.

In January-May 2016, Turkey imported a total of 19.94 billion cubic meters of gas, 16.22 billion cubic meters of which were supplied via the pipelines, while 3.72 billion cubic meters accounted for the import of liquefied natural gas.

The meeting of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will be held Aug. 9 in St. Petersburg.

This is Erdogan’s first visit to Russia after the crisis in the two countries’ relations and also after the attempted military coup in Turkey.

Turkish delegation includes Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak, Minister of Culture and Tourism Nabi Avci, Minister of Transport, Shipping and Communications Ahmet Arslan and Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek. (Trend.az)