Turkey Financial News

Turkish and Russian customs officials said on Friday that the recent dispute that erupted after Russian customs imposed tighter controls on Turkish exports is expected to be solved within a week after the signing of a protocol for simplified customs relations.

Turkish customs undersecretariat officials headed by Deputy Prime Minister Hayati Yazici and head of Russian Federation’s customs service, Andrei Belianinov and his deputy Igor Zahrazhnov met in Istanbul.

“The officials from both parties will meet in Moscow next week and the problems at customs will be solved following the signing of protocol,” Yazici said at a joint press conference with Russian officials. (more…)

Turkey will build a natural gas power plant and explore for oil and natural gas in Turkmenistan, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Hilmi Güler has said.

Speaking to the press on Wednesday to share details of his meetings with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov and four ministers of the Turkmen Cabinet, Güler said one item on the agenda was the farming out of exploration and production activities in Caspian oil and gas fields. He also noted that they discussed opportunities to establish alternative energy generating facilities in Turkmenistan such as wind and solar power plants, in which Turkey has know-how and experience.

“We will also construct a natural gas power plant,” he noted, adding, “The Turkish Petroleum Corporation [TPAO] will initiate oil and natural gas exploration in the Caspian region together with Turkmen authorities.” Another item discussed in the meetings was the increase in the quantity of electricity purchased from Turkmenistan. Turkey has been purchasing 600 million kilowatt-hours (Kwh) of electricity annually from this country since 2003.

“My visit to Turkmenistan has nothing to do with recent developments in the Caucasus. It was a scheduled visit,” he said, referring to the brief war fought between Russia and Georgia over the breakaway region of South Ossetia. (more…)

The European Union must reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies by accelerating the planned Nabucco pipeline to bring gas from central Asia, the EU’s energy chief said on Thursday.

The EU is heavily reliant on Russian gas, but it has been pushing for the $12 billion Nabucco pipeline since disputes between Russia and transit states like Ukraine highlighted the frailty of its energy supply routes. “Our objective of diversifying our sources and routes is even more important after the events in Georgia,” EU Energy Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs told reporters on Thursday. The pipeline is due to bring 30 billion cubic metres of Caspian or Middle Eastern gas annually to an Austrian gas hub via Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. But analysts say hopes of construction are quickly fading, especially after the conflict in Georgia increased doubts about the security of investing in the turbulent region. “We need more political engagement to remove all the obstacles to Nabucco to bring gas from the Caspian basin to the EU,” said Piebalgs. (more…)

Turkey and Russia are expected to sign an intergovernmental agreement on a rail ferry connection between the ports of Samsun in Turkey and Kavkaz on the Kerch Strait on Russia’s Black Sea coast during the visit of Turkish President Abdullah Gül to Moscow in December, the Turkish Daily News has learned.

“We are working to connect Kavkaz and Samsun, both port cities that have access to railways, with a ferry connection. Our aim is to develop rail and road systems in the Black Sea region,” Aleksandr Davidenk, head of the Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport at Russia’s Ministry of Transport said yesterday at Yugtrans-2008 maritime conference in Istanbul.

Alternative transport routes

The plan to connect Samsun and Kavkaz by a rail ferry link comes at a time when the pressure on Russian roads and shortage of port facilities for large deliveries has attracted criticism in several countries trading with Russia. (more…)

Vahit Erdem, the head of the Turkish delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, has said that unless tensions in the Caucasus subside Russia will use its power as the main energy supplier to the European Union and Turkey to threaten them with gas shortages.

According to Erdem, Georgia’s attack at the beginning of last month against the pro-Russian breakaway region of South Ossetia, which sparked a Russian invasion, was an unwise move that has left Turkey and the EU in a difficult situation.

Ankara cooperates with Georgia in the field of energy. Turkey hopes to use gas and oil pipelines that pass through Georgia and end in Turkey to establish itself as an energy hub for Europe. It also provides Georgia with critical military assistance and training. But it has important ties with Russia, too. Russia is Turkey’s biggest trading partner, with an estimated trade volume of $38 billion this year. Turkey is a key buyer of Russian natural gas, relying on Russia for as much as 65 percent of its supply. (more…)

A leading Kuwaiti oil company has started feasibility studies on the establishment of an oil refinery in Adana’s Ceyhan district, the end point of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, which transports Azerbaijani oil to international markets.

A four-member delegation led by Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) Vice President Mohammed Rashed Jasem recently visited Ceyhan and met with local officials, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday.

The delegation was briefed at the Ceyhan Chamber of Commerce and Industry after visiting the regional headquarters of the Turkish Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) and the Yumurtalık Free Trade Zone.

Ceyhan Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Ali Duru said he had briefed the Kuwaiti delegation on the opportunities for energy investment in the region. “The Kuwaitis left our city with many ideas [for investment],” he said. (more…)

Turkey is planning to increase natural gas deliveries from Azerbaijan for winter and Turkey’s energy minister will visit Baku for this aim, Azerbaijani ABC.az reported citing state-run Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS) on Thursday.

BOTAS informed that the minister would discuss the company and the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources’s plan to increase the daily gas delivery from Azerbaijan to 12-15 million cubic meters (cu m) from 8 cu m, during his visit to Baku, the report said.

“BOTAS has commenced filling the gas storages in Silifki. If in the winter months Iranian gas export is stopped again and Russia Gazprom refuses delivering extra gas, then that demand will be covered due by the stores and Azeri gas.”

Turkey’s Energy Minister Hilmi Guler is leaving for Baku to request an increase of natural gas deliveries from Azerbaijan, the report also said. (more…)

Russia and Uzbekistan agreed on Tuesday to build a new pipeline to carry gas from Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan to Russia, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said, quoted by news agencies.

“An agreement has been reached on starting practical joint work on building a new gas pipeline system on Uzbek territory to ensure the growing export potential of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan itself,” Putin said on a trip to the Uzbek capital Tashkent, quoted by RIA Novosti.

Putin gave no immediate details about the pipeline plan.

However Uzbek President Islam Karimov said a new pipeline was needed to handle extra supplies from Turkmenistan and would run alongside two Soviet-era pipelines that cross Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan before reaching Russia. (more…)