Botas, Total Clinch LNG Deal: Press
Turkey's state gas importer Botas has reached a deal with France's Total to buy 1.2mn mt of LNG over three years starting in late 2020, Reuters reported on June 3 citing sources. It did not give details on pricing. Total has a large portfolio of equity LNG, including Nigerian, but it has seen a slump in demand globally.
Like other countries in Europe, Turkey has steeply increased its LNG imports over the past year, as low prices have made the gas cheaper in some cases than piped supplies. Its imports from the US increased fourfold year on year (yr/yr) in January-March to 370mn m3 while its deliveries from Qatar doubled to 786.2mn m3, according to data published by its energy regulator Emra.
Turkey also bought LNG from Algeria, Nigeria, Cameroon and Egypt during the period.
Meanwhile, Russia lost its position as the country's top gas supplier in the three months, as piped shipments slumped 72% yr/yr to 389.7mn m3. Replacing it in the top spot was Azerbaijan, which increased piped supplies by 19.6% to 924.3mn m3. Iran supplies fell 33% to 558mn m3, partly because of a pipeline explosion in late March. The pipeline has still not been repaired.