Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.15
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Turkey won't be able to get rid of dependence on Russia's Gazprom company in coming years, since this company will play an important role in providing Turkey with natural gas till 2022, Sohbet Karbuz, director of hydrocarbons at the Mediterranean Energy Observatory (OME) in Paris told Trend.
Russia has always been a reliable gas supplier to Turkey and the sides should make efforts to maintain this, according to the expert.
"The fact that Russia is a reliable supplier of gas to Turkey does not prevent Ankara from diversifying its supply sources," he added.
Karbuz believes that diversification of supply sources is normal, since exporter countries are also interested in diversification of routes.
Turkey's geographical location will allow the country to use gas from Northern Iran, Israel and even from Turkmenistan as diversification of supply sources in the medium and long term, according to the expert.
The importance of liquefied natural gas for Turkey should also be taken into account if favorable market conditions are created, he added.
Even if Turkey uses all the existing routes to increase the gas supply, Russia will continue to hold an important place for Ankara in this sphere.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier said that if necessary, his country can purchase gas not only from Russia but also from other sources.
He noted that Turkey is a large importer of Russian gas and if Turkey doesn't import this gas, it will be a serious loss for Moscow.
Furthermore, previously, deputy general manager of BOTAS Petroleum Pipeline Corporation Nedim Ozyol said in an interview with Trend that Turkey doesn't intend to depend on gas suppliers, including Russia.
Turkey has contracts with Iran on supplying 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year, with Russia - 20 billion cubic meters of gas and with Azerbaijan - 6.6 billion cubic meters of gas.
Turkey also has an agreement with Algeria and Nigeria for supplying 4.4 billion and 1.2 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas, respectively per year.
Edited by SI
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