Turkmen natural gas set to reach Türkiye on March 1

ANKARA

Following a historic agreement on natural gas supply between Türkiye and Turkmenistan, the delivery of Turkmen natural gas will begin on March 1, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has told state-run Anadolu Agency.

A total of 1.3 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas will be delivered this year, enough to meet the needs of 1.5 million households, Bayraktar said.

Bayraktar noted that Türkiye aims to extend the agreement with Turkmenistan from one to five years.

After 27 years of negotiations, the natural gas trade agreement between Türkiye and Turkmenistan has finally been resolved, Bayraktar said.

During a meeting last year between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov, chairman of Turkmenistan's Halk Maslahaty, agreements were signed to boost cooperation in natural gas and petroleum.

During the meeting, a declaration of intent was made to bring Turkmenistan's natural gas to Türkiye and onward to the West.

Following this, the Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) and Türkmengaz reached an agreement to supply Turkmen gas to Türkiye.

Bayraktar explained that, following these developments, significant efforts were made to establish the necessary technical and legal infrastructure needed to start the flow of gas from Turkmenistan to Türkiye.

For the first time, Türkiye will receive pipeline gas from a country that is not its neighbor, Bayraktar underlined.

He explained that gas from Turkmenistan, delivered via the Dauletabad–Sarakhs–Khangiran pipeline to Iran, will be sent to Türkiye through Iran using the "swap" method.

The gas will be delivered through the natural gas pipeline from Iran to Türkiye's Gürbulak border gate.