Turkey eyes buying gas from Qatar

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet

Turkey looks to sign a long-term contract with Qatar to buy natural gas, if they agree that the consensus over prices will be maintained.

Negotiations between Qatar and Turkey, facilitated by BOTAŞ, continue over the price of the gas and the process is expected to be finalized during an upcoming visit by a Qatari delegation.

The Turkish energy minister had said last month that Turkey would welcome any attractive offers from any country and that Qatar was not the only option, though Turkey would appreciate an order from Qatar.

The contract with Qatar should be for 10 years at least but with a reasonable price in order for Turkey to agree on a long-term contract, the minister said.

The minister also revealed that Qatari investors preferred to partner with existing facilities like Aliağa or Marmara Ereğli. He said that the Aliağa facility operated with 2 BCM in 2012, whereas its capacity is actually 6 BCM. “The targeted production amount is 6 BCM and Turkey will prioritize using the gas produced there,” he said.