Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at November 28th, 2008

Hungary’s prime minister said he is hopeful that talks over a pipeline that would transport natural gas from the Caucasus to Western markets will resume smoothly soon.

Talks for the project have been hindered by Turkey’s request to be entitled to 15 percent of the gas flowing through the Nabucco pipeline. The European Union says Turkey must pay the normal transit fee.

Turkey’s position on the issue was “responsible and flexible”, Ferenc Gyurcsany was quoted by AP as telling at a joint news conference following talks with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. Gyurcsany said he was hopeful an accord would be signed.

The pipeline aims to reduce the EU’s dependence on Russia and is planned to run from the Caspian Sea across Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary to Austria. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 7th, 2008

European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said on Thursday he hoped Europe and Turkey would reach a deal early next year on transit terms to make the planned $12 billion Nabucco gas pipeline a reality.

But he also admitted that the viability of the pipeline could be threatened by the energy deals that Russia is pursuing in the Caspian region.

The long-delayed project is intended to carry 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) of Central Asian gas a year to Europe via Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary as part of a plan to reduce Europe’s dependency on Russian gas. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 4th, 2008

The EU’s top energy official will travel to Turkey on Wednesday to press Ankara to quickly complete talks about transporting natural gas from the Caucasus to Western Europe via Turkey.

The visit of EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalg will show the EU remains committed to the Nabucco pipeline project that faces stiff competition from Russia, diplomats say.

The EU wants to ease its dependence on Russia for energy. Moscow’s negotiations with Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan to direct their Caspian Sea gas supplies westward through Russia, has worried the European Union. Piebalg is confident the EU and Turkey can close a Nabucco transmission deal by years end. (more…)

Posted by meb at September 4th, 2008

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…)

Posted by meb at September 2nd, 2008

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has publicly urged additional funding to construct the Nabucco pipeline from the Caspian Sea, to carry gas through Turkey to the West. His thoughts were outlined in an article published in the Sunday Observer.

Brown, prior to yesterday’s meeting of European heads of state, called upon leaders to discuss the crisis in Georgia and said the West should not be dependent upon Russia for energy supplies. In the article, entitled, “This is how we will stand up to Russia’s naked aggression,” Brown argued that the EU must now speed up work on creating a single European market for gas and electricity as “a collective defense to secure our energy supplies and try to strike collective deals with Russia on energy supplies.” Further, he warned President Dmitry Medvedev to expect a “determined”’ response to the invasion of Georgia. (more…)

Posted by meb at July 10th, 2008

Gaz de France is still keen to acquire a stake in the prospective Nabucco pipeline to deliver gas from Central Asia to Europe, the company’s chairman said Tuesday.

“We’re still very open to participating in Nabucco,” Jean-Francois Cirelli said at a hearing at the French Senate on the natural gas company’s pending merger with electric utility Suez.

“A new route for gas is in the interest of Europe,” Cirelli said. “But if GDF Suez is not in the pipeline, we’re still a candidate to buy some of the capacity that will pass through it,” Cirelli said. (more…)