Two Goals for Natural Gas
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar stated that by increasing regasification capacity fivefold, they can bring gas to Türkiye and to European markets via Türkiye, adding, “Thus, we aim to secure our energy supply on the one hand and deliver ample gas to European markets on the other.”
The Gastech 2025 Exhibition and Conference, which brings together all stakeholders in the energy sector, primarily natural gas, LNG, hydrogen, and climate technologies, began in Italy. Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, took part in the opening ceremony of the event held in Milan and delivered a speech at the ministerial panel.
Electricity Demand Will Increase
In the panel titled “New Energy Imperative: Security and Resilience in a Volatile Global Market,” Minister Bayraktar outlined Türkiye’s energy vision, stating that Türkiye expects its electricity demand to triple over the next 30 years. Bayraktar emphasized that electricity consumption currently stands at 350 terawatt hours, adding, “We expect this figure to reach 1,000 terawatt hours over the next 30 years.”
Will Quadruple We are also exploring small modular reactors that will provide around 5 gigawatts of power."
We Are Looking for Other Projects
Bayraktar explained that they are investing in every stage of the gas value chain, saying, “Five years ago, we made a major gas discovery in the Black Sea. However, we need much more gas. That is why we are increasing our production in the Black Sea. We are looking for other projects with our partners in Central Asia, the Caspian Sea region, Africa, and different parts of the Middle East.”
20 Percent Will Be Stored
Stating that they have invested in many gas projects, Bayraktar said, "We aim to store 12 billion cubic meters of gas in Türkiye, which constitutes almost 20 percent of our annual needs in 2030," regarding underground storage projects.
Gas to European Markets
Stating that they also invested in the regasification capacity, Bayraktar said that they increased the re-gasification capacity by 5 times in 7-8 years. Emphasizing that the increase in gasification capacity allows Türkiye to bring more energy to and European markets through Türkiye, Bayraktar said:
We re-gasify LNG by using gasification terminals. We transmit it to the border of Bulgaria and Greece, and from there to the European market. Thus, we aim to secure our energy supply on the one hand, and on the other hand, to bring plenty of gas to European markets.
Participation from EU, USA, Hungary and Nigeria
In addition to Minister Bayraktar, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, Nigerian Minister of Oil Resources Ekperikpe Ekpo, EU Commission Director General of Energy Ditte Juul Jørgensen and US Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum also made a speech at the panel.