Turkish Forum

Tag: natural gas import

  • Leviathan gas sales to Turkey worth $3-4b a year

    Leviathan gas sales to Turkey worth $3-4b a year

    Leviathan is not big enough for exports by pipeline and LNG, and this could harm Woodside’s plans to build an LNG facility.

    17 February 13 17:43, Amiram Barkat and Hillel Koren

    A natural gas export contract with Turkey could generate $3-4 billion revenue a year for the Leviathan partners, Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL), Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG), and Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) LP (TASE:RATI.L), according to an analysis of market prices and the quantities of gas under discussion by the parties. Turkey currently pays $11-16 per million BTU for natural gas it buys via pipeline, depending on the contracts with natural gas suppliers.

    Turkish daily “Sunday’s Zaman” reports that Turkey’s main gas supplier, Russia, which supplies 55% of the country’s gas, charges $400 million per billion cubic meters, or $11 per million BTU. Azerbaijan, which supplies 10% of the country’s gas, charges $300 million per billion cubic meters, and Iran, which supplies 25% of the country’s gas, charges $505million per billion cubic meters. Turkish complaints about the high price of Iranian gas resulted in the opening of arbitration proceeding in March 2012. Nonetheless, Turkey increased its gas purchases from Iran by 10%, compared with 2011, to 8 BCM, at a cost of over $4 billion.

    Talks between Turkish companies and the Leviathan partners mention gas deliveries equal to Turkey’s imports from Iran.

    Energy analysts are currently skeptical about a deal, saying that there is nothing to price at this time, and that Egyptian gas affair demonstrates the geopolitical risks of any gas contract. “If the gas flow stops after two years, how will that affect the return on investment and yields? After all, no one can guarantee such large gas sales,” a market source says.

    Noble Energy executives have said in the past that any deal with Turkey would require changes in the diplomatic landscape. In addition, any large gas deal with Turkey could have ramifications on liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plans and on plans by Australia’s Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (ASX: WPL) to become a partner in Leviathan for the purpose of building such a facility.

    The size of gas discovery at Leviathan and other fields are not big enough for simultaneous exports by pipeline and LNG, even assuming that the Tzemach Committee does not reduce its gas export recommendations, following disappointing results from wells drilled after the report was published.

    Market sources believe that that Leviathan partners will soon announce an update on the discovery. Source close to the matter are optimistic about an upward revision from the current estimate of 17 trillion cubic feet of gas. The Leviathan 4 verification well, begun in mid-November, will take four months to complete. The well is targeting strata at a depth of 5,300 meters, including 1,600 meters water depth. The well will later serve as the gas production rig as part of Leviathan’s development plan.

    Published by Globes [online], Israel business news – www.globes-online.com – on February 17, 2013

    © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013

    via Leviathan gas sales to Turkey worth $3-4b a year – Globes.

  • Algeria, Turkey renew gas deal for 10 years

    Algeria, Turkey renew gas deal for 10 years

    ALGIERS (AFP) – Algeria and Turkey have decided to renew for 10 years from 2014 an agreement for Algeria to deliver four billion cubic metres of gas annually to Turkey, Energy Minister Youcef Yousfi said on Saturday.

    photo_1357411715240_1_0-18egtq3The official APS news agency said it was “decided to extend the agreement by 10 years, with the possibility of increasing the volume of gas exported.”

    Algeria and Turkey signed a 20-year agreement in 1988 on the sale and purchase of four billion cubic metres of gas annually, and which came into effect in 1994.

    Speaking after a meeting in Algiers with visiting Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz, Yousfi told reporters that Algeria’s Sonatrach and Turkey’s Botas have “already decided on the conditions and terms of the new agreement.”

    Turkey’s rising gas needs are expected to quadruple over the next 10 years.

    “We have said we wish to increase our imports to six billion cubic metres a year. Everything will depend on Algeria’s export capacity,” Yildiz said.

    via Algeria, Turkey renew gas deal for 10 years – The West Australian.

  • Ukraine in talks with Germany, Romania and Turkey over gas imports

    Ukraine in talks with Germany, Romania and Turkey over gas imports

    Business, World | nineoclock | March 19th, 2012 at 9:00 PM

    3jan06

    Ukraine has started talks with Germany, Romania and Turkey to buy 2-3.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from each country in a bid to reduce imports of more expensive Russian gas, Kommersant-Ukraine reported on Monday, citing sources in the Energy Ministry, Ria Novosti reports.Naftogaz, the Ukrainian national energy company intends to purchase about 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas in Europe or about one third of gas supplies to the ex-Soviet republic, its head Yevheniy Bakulin said on March 17. He mentioned the price of natural gas in Europe was about USD 30-40 per 1,000 cubic meters lower than the price fixed in the 2009 contract with Russian energy giant Gazprom.Russia and Ukraine have been embroiled in a drawn-out dispute over the price and volume of Russian gas purchased by Ukraine. Kiev insists the current price is too high, while Moscow is pushing for control of Ukraine’s gas transit system to Europe, as part of a deal to cut prices. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said that Ukraine annually pays about USD 3.8 bln more for Russian natural gas supplies than the price paid by European countries or about 8 percent of Ukraine’s total budget spending in 2012. Yanukovych said USD 250 per 1,000 cu m was a fair price for Russian natural gas supplies compared with over USD 400 per 1,000 cu m paid by Ukraine in the fourth quarter of 2012.

    via Ukraine in talks with Germany, Romania and Turkey over gas imports.

  • BP Azerbaijan head: Gas agreements between Azerbaijan and Turkey to help open Southern Gas Corridor to Europe

    BP Azerbaijan head: Gas agreements between Azerbaijan and Turkey to help open Southern Gas Corridor to Europe

    Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.28 / Trend E.Ismayilov /

    Gas Pipeline 200407 bigThe Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkey have signed a number of key gas export related agreements to enable Turkey to buy gas from Azerbaijan and to transit Azerbaijan gas through Turkey to Europe, official website of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) reports.

    According to the report, the documents signed in Izmir (Turkey) on Tuesday, October 25, included an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the Government of Azerbaijan and the Government of Turkey, Gas Sales Agreements between SOCAR and BOTAS and also between the Azerbaijan Gas Supply Company (AGSC) and BOTAS International Limited (BIL), a Gas Transit Agreement between SOCAR and BOTAS and a Framework Agreement (FA) setting the general terms and conditions for transit of gas sourced from Azerbaijan through the territory of Turkey. The IGA and FA contemplate transit through Turkey either via an upgrade to the existing BOTAS transmission network or via the development of a new-build pipeline across Turkey.

    The execution of the documents was witnessed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan H.E. Ilham Aliyev and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The documents were signed by the Minister of Industry and Energy of Azerbaijan Natig Aliyev and the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey Taner Yildiz, as well as SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev, the President for the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Region of BP and the Operator of Shah Deniz field, Rashid Javanshir and General Manager of BOTAS Fazil Senel.

    The agreements provide a legal framework to regulate the sale of Shah Deniz gas to Turkey and its transportation to European markets through Turkey, the website reports.

    “We are pleased to finalise the signing of these key agreements between Azerbaijan and Turkey that will lead to Shah Deniz full field development and delivery of Stage 2 gas from Azerbaijan’s giant field in the Caspian Sea to Turkey and European markets. This is a significant step that has been achieved by the two Governments with support from all parties involved including the Shah Deniz consortium. We believe the success of all efforts that have brought us to today’s achievement lies in the close partnership among the three key parties – the Government of Azerbaijan, the Government of Turkey and the Shah Deniz consortium. This partnership has been a key element in everything accomplished so far and will continue to be a driving force to move Shah Deniz to the stage when it will safely and reliably supply Azerbaijan gas to Turkey and Europe,” SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev said.

    Speaking on behalf of the Shah Deniz consortium Rashid Javanshir, President for the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Region of BP, said: “We welcome the successful signing of the Shah Deniz gas sales and transit agreements, and the Inter-Governmental Agreement between Azerbaijan and Turkey. We believe these agreements will help open a Southern Gas Corridor to Europe and link Azerbaijan and Turkey with yet another strategic partnership. They will support the continued development of Shah Deniz 2 project towards a final investment decision and development of Turkey as an energy hub for Europe. The signing of these agreements will also allow Shah Deniz to proceed with its European pipeline selection process, and to confirm gas sales agreements with potential customers. ‪

    On behalf of the co-venturers we would like to congratulate Azerbaijan and Turkey on reaching these extremely important agreements”.

    Shah Deniz Stage 2, or Full Field Development (FFD), is a giant project that will bring gas from Azerbaijan to Europe and Turkey. This will increase gas supply and energy security to European markets through the opening of the new Southern Gas Corridor.

    The project is expected to add a further 16 billion cubic meters per year (bcma) of gas production to the approximately 9 bcma from Shah Deniz Stage 1. “It is one of the largest gas development projects anywhere in the world,” the website reports.

    Plans for the project include two new bridge-linked offshore platforms; 26 subsea wells to be drilled with 2 semi-submersible rigs; 500 km of subsea pipelines built at up to 550m water depth; additional export capacity in Azerbaijan and Georgia; expansion of the Sangachal Terminal.

    “Proposals for the transportation of gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe are now being evaluated by the Shah Deniz consortium with an award expected around the end of the year,” the report says.

    Proposals were submitted by October 1 from Nabucco, Trans-Adriatic Pipeline and IGI-Poseidon.

    In addition, the Shah Deniz project team are also evaluating a fourth potential export option which would transport gas to markets in South-Eastern Europe through a system of regional existing and future interconnector infrastructure.

    The partners in Shah Deniz are: BP Operator (25.5 per cent), Statoil (25.5 per cent), SOCAR (10 per cent), Total (10 per cent), Lukoil (10 per cent), NICO (10 per cent) and TPAO (9 per cent).

    via BP Azerbaijan head: Gas agreements between Azerbaijan and Turkey to help open Southern Gas Corridor to Europe – Trend.

  • Turkey urges more natural gas imports from Iran

    Turkey urges more natural gas imports from Iran

    Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Javad Oji said that Turkey has asked Iran to increase its natural gas exports to its northwestern neighbor, the state IRIB TV website reported.

    c 150 100 16777215 0 images stories oct01 15 04 iranOji said that Iran’s current gas exports to Turkey stands at 24 million cubic meters per day on average and expressed Tehran’s readiness to provide Ankara with more natural gas, said the report.

    The two countries have held negotiations in the past over an increase in the gas exports to Turkey, he said, adding that Iran has a capacity to export an average of 36-40 million cubic meters of natural gas per day to Turkey.

    According to the report, Turkey currently has natural gas purchase deals with countries such as Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan, as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG) deals with Nigeria and Algeria.

    In 2009, Iran and Turkey signed an agreement to transfer up to 35 billion cubic meters of Iran’s natural gas to Europe via Turkey.

    Earlier this year, Iran’s First Vice-President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi said exporting Iran’s natural gas to Europe through Turkey would be beneficial for both Tehran and Ankara.

    In a meeting with Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz in Tehran, Rahimi stressed the need for implementation of all agreements reached between Tehran and Ankara on energy cooperation.

    Yildiz said that his country was ready to increase its cooperation with Iran in the energy field and pointed out that Ankara was determined to help Tehran transit its natural gas to Europe.

    According to Iranian media, the gas pipeline to transfer Iran’s natural gas to Europe is scheduled to become operational in 2014.

    According to Iran’s Petroleum Ministry, Iran’s proved natural gas reserves are about 29,610 cubic kilometers or about 15.8 percent of world’s total reserves. It has the world’s second largest reserves after Russia.

    Iran can step in after Turkey break with Gazprom

    Iran said that it was ready to boost its gas exports to neighboring Turkey, after Turkish Botas ended its deal with Russia’s Gazprom, a senior official told the Mehr news agency.

    “Turkey has previously had talks with Iran in regard to increase the volume of our natural gas export … Iran is ready to boost its export upon the Turkey’s request,” Javad Oji, managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) told Mehr.

    Oji said: “Iran’s gas export to Turkey has increased by 12 percent from March and NIGC has averagely delivered more than 24 million cubic meters of natural gas to Turkish Botas per day.”

    He also said Iran had the capacity to produces 600 million cubic meters of gas.

    In early October, Turkish Botas ended its contract with Russia’s producer Gazprom for buying annually 6 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas due to pricing disagreement.

    When Oji asked about the possibility of any modification of the price of Iran’s exporting gas, he said the deal had “open conditions”.

    “Both sides have authority to hold talks over the price change based on the conditions and gas global market price … But so far no talks in this regards have been held,” Oji said.

    Iran has also excluded Gazprom from development of one of its major oil fields project.

    Source: agencies

    via Turkey urges more natural gas imports from Iran – Tehran Times.

  • Turkey breaks Russian gas contract

    Turkey breaks Russian gas contract

    Turkish government cancels a contract to buy six billion cubic metres a year of natural gas ‎from Russia after failing to win a discount

    AFP , Saturday 1 Oct 2011

    Turkey has revoked a contract to purchase six billion cubic metres a year of natural gas ‎from Russia, its main supplier, after failing to win a discount, Energy Minister Taner ‎Yildiz said Saturday.

    ‎”The contract on the western routing has been wound up because the request for a lower ‎price has been refused,” Anatolia news agency quoted him as saying.

    Yildaz had threatened Thursday to end the contract under which Turkey imports gas ‎from Gazprom Export, a subsidiary of the Russian gas giant Gazprom, via a pipeline ‎passing through Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria.

    Turkey imported 18 billion cubic metres of gas from Russia last year, about 60 percent ‎of its total domestic gas consumption.

    Yildiz said Thursday that natural gas input prices had increased by around 39 percent ‎over the last 29 months, adding that this would prompt Turkey to revisit each and every ‎expiring contract one by one.

    The agreement on the western pipeline, which feeds Turkey’s biggest city of Istanbul, ‎was signed in 1986 and was due to expire at the end of this year.

    Other Russian gas is supplied by the South Stream pipeline passing under the Black Sea.

    Yildiz said Saturday that the decision to break the contract did not mean that Russian gas ‎supplies would end or cause any problems between Ankara and Moscow, whose ‎‎”strategic relationship cannot be affected by a few contracts.”‎

    via Turkey breaks Russian gas contract – Economy – Business – Ahram Online.