Global LNG Giants Met in Istanbul

The summit was marked by the statements of the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar and BOTAŞ's 2 new LNG agreements. At the opening of the summit, Minister Bayraktar called on European countries, "You can bring LNG and store it in our storage facilities."

BOTAŞ also signed two agreements with German SEFE and Italian ENI companies hosting the summit, which will start in 2028 and last for 10 years. Shipments will take place in the winter months within the scope of agreements with a total of 11 billion cubic meters, including 6 billion cubic meters with SEFE and 5 billion cubic meters with ENI.

Demand Is Growing Rapidly

Minister Bayraktar, 25th held in Istanbul. He attended the World LNG Summit. In his speech here, Bayraktar stated that there are rapid changes in the energy scene and that the global energy demand is growing rapidly, and that artificial intelligence, data centers and electric vehicles increase this demand even more.

It Will Triple

Saying that similar trends are experienced in Türkiye, Bayraktar pointed out that energy demand has increased 3 times in the last 20 years and will triple in the next 30 years. Emphasizing that the effect of factors such as artificial intelligence, heating and cooling systems and initial change could not be measured, Bayraktar noted that Türkiye is the president of COP 31 and that the goal of reducing emissions is one of the most important items on its agendas.

Net Zero Emission Target

Bayraktar reminded that they have developed strategies for this, reminding that they have a goal to become an economy with net zero emissions in 2053. Stating that they are trying to provide affordable and reliable energy to citizens, Bayraktar explained Türkiye's energy outlook.

Renewable Target

Expressing that they have a great potential in renewable energy, Bayraktar said, "With our renewable energy installed power, we are ranked 5th in Europe and 11th in the world. More than 61 percent of our total installed capacity comes from renewable sources. We aim to add at least 8-10 gigawatts of renewable capacity to our installed capacity every year for the next 10 years.” said.

First Nuclear Electricity in 2026

Bayraktar emphasized that they will produce the first electricity in Akkuyu NGS in 2026, "We aim to reach 20 gigawatt nuclear capacity by 2050. For this, we plan to build 8 additional reactors in Sinop and Thrace. In addition, we see SMRs, i.e. small modular reactors, as an important element of our future energy mix and we plan to have an SMR capacity of 5 thousand megawatts," he said.

It Will Multiply to 4 in 2028

Underlining that they use natural gas in households, industry and electricity production and that the demand here is increasing rapidly, Bayraktar said that the consumption, which was 17 and a half billion cubic meters per year 22 years ago, has reached 60 billion cubic meters today. Bayraktar explained that they completed the first phase in Sakarya Gas Field and delivered gas to 4 million households from here, and mentioned that they will double this figure in 2026 and by 4 in 2028.

The New Ship Has Arrived

Explaining that the 6th ship in the Turkish energy fleet is coming to Türkiye today and will be operational in 2026, Bayraktar stated that they will conduct 6 new drilling in the Black Sea for exploration purposes. Bayraktar announced that they are open to more partnerships all over the world, reminding that they have made an agreement for 5 locations in Pakistan, 3 of which are open-sea and 2 of which are land, in the context of oil and natural gas exploration and production.

25 Percent of Consumption Will Be Stored

Stating that they have invested in natural gas infrastructure, that they will increase the capacity of the storage facility in Salt Lake from 1.7 billion cubic meters to 8 and a half billion cubic meters in 2030, and that the capacity of the storage facility in Silivri will increase to 6 billion cubic meters in 2028, Bayraktar said that they want to have a storage capacity of 20-25 percent of the annual consumption.

Increased 5 Times

Bayraktar stated that they saw an increase in the supply of LNG in the USA in 2016 and that they developed a strategy accordingly, and that they decided to increase the regasification capacity in this direction, and that they increased it by 5 times in a short time to 161 million cubic meters per day.

We Became Gas Exporters

Stating that they have started to make long-term contracts with global LNG suppliers, Bayraktar pointed out that LNG constitutes a significant part of Türkiye's gas imports are that they are a gas exporter with a diversified supply portfolio with Black Sea gas.

Two New Connections

Explaining that they did not only sign big LNG agreements this year, but brought gas from Turkmenistan for the first time, Bayraktar said, "We added two new interconnection points to our network. We established Iğdır-Nakhchivan and Kilis-Syria connections. Together with SOCAR and Qatar, we started to supply gas to Syria," he said.

Call to Europe

Explaining that they supply gas to Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Greece by pipeline and to North Macedonia and Serbia with LNG trucks in Europe, Bayraktar said, “We have created a great alternative for European countries to purchase LNG through our regasification terminals. We can make long-term or short-term commitments to Europeans to use our infrastructure by bringing LNG cargo to us. Europe can bring LNG and store it in our storage facilities," he said.

Turkish Way

Reminding that Türkiye has a balanced, diversified, forward-looking energy policy and that they call it the "Turkish Road", Bayraktar said, "This strategic approach makes Türkiye a reliable partner in the regional and global energy environment. Türkiye is ready to work with all partners represented here today to build flexible and strong energy markets," he said.

2 New LNG Agreements of 11 Billion Cubic Meters

25. The World LNG Summit hosted two new agreements for Türkiye. Türkiye's national company BOTAŞ shook hands with the German State Company SEFE for a total of 11 billion cubic meters of LNG supply, including 6 billion cubic meters and 5 billion cubic meters with the Italian company ENI. Minister Bayraktar accompanied the signing ceremonies of the agreements. The agreements will start in 2028 and will last for 10 years. SEFE and ENI will carry out these shipments in the winter periods when natural gas consumption is intensifying.

Increased to 155 Billion Cubic Meters

Minister Bayraktar answered the questions of the journalists after the signing of the agreements and the opening of the summit. Stating that they signed a long-term LNG agreement of 106 billion cubic meters in 2025 and 155 billion cubic meters in September 2024 with the SEFE and ENI agreements, Bayraktar said that they are going to diversify products at competitive prices by putting LNG as an alternative next to the gas coming from the pipeline.