Turkey’s energy imports increase
Botas, the Turkish state pipeline operator, plans to import an estimated 37.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2008.
The company, based in Ankara, didn’t provide figures for the amount it imported last year. It bought 30.8 billion cubic meters of imported gas in 2006, according to the company’s Web site.
In 2008, 35 billion cubic meters will come through pipelines and the rest will be liquefied natural gas, or LNG, said a Botas official who declined to be identified, in line with company policy.
The cost of the imports including LNG is expected to reach $11.7 billion in 2008, the Istanbul-based brokerage Ekspres Invest said in an e-mailed note.
Russia is Turkey’s biggest supplier of natural gas, followed by Iran and Azerbaijan. Algeria and Nigeria are its main suppliers of LNG. Turkey imported 97 percent of the natural gas it used in 2006, according to the Energy Ministry. Turkey might increase or lower the 2.5 billion cubic meters of LNG it expects to import this year, depending on demand, the official said.
Source: Turkish Daily News