Turkmenistan’s hopes of organising its gas supplies to Turkey collapsed as Ankara signed a long-term agreement to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG), bne IntelliNews reported.
On 18 September, Turkey’s state-owned gas importer Botas agreed with France’s TotalEnergies to import 1.6 billion cubic metres of LNG per year from the US starting in 2027. A third deal was signed last May with ExxonMobil, with details undisclosed.
Despite Turkish imports from other countries, Ankara could potentially still be ready to receive Turkmen gas. Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Friday that the country had the capacity to receive up to 80 bcm per year, but only needed about 50 bcm to meet its own demand.
If there is an export opportunity and we can reach an agreement with customers in Europe, we can import LNG from many different sources.
Among possible gas exporters to Turkey, he named the United States, Qatar, Oman, and Trinidad and Tobago, without mentioning Turkmenistan.
Back in March, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed a preliminary agreement covering a “swap deal” involving Turkmenistan, Turkey, and Iran. However, according to unverified reports, negotiations stalled when Turkmen officials proved unable to agree on a purchase price.
