Daily Sabah: Ankara to Cut Gas-Dependency on Moscow with Alternative Suppliers

Although natural gas exchange between Turkey and Russia has run smoothly since the crisis surrounding Turkey's downing of a Russian military jet, Turkey continues to take measures to secure its natural gas supply - including turning to Turkmen, Kazakh and Iraqi resources as an alternative.

Following Russia's harsh rhetoric, Turkey, which is the second-largest importer of Russian natural gas, is seeking alternative suppliers. This is in light of the fact that there are no considerable problems with the natural gas flowing through the Western Line and the Blue Stream. In addition to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) agreement with Qatar and the acceleration of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project, which will carry Iraqi natural gas to Turkey, work on the pipeline has been given a strong push to continue. This includes the Turkish state-owned energy company Petroleum Pipeline Company of Turkey (BOTAŞ) planning to hold a tender on the 185-kilometer-long pipeline before the end of December. The pipeline, which will start from the 35th kilometer of the Mardin Natural Gas Pipeline, will end at the Turkish border town of Silopi. When the pipeline is completed, it will not only carry Iraqi natural gas to Turkey, but can be used in the regulation of potential projects in the Middle East and Gulf region as well. MORE