Hürriyet Daily News: Turkey needs better regulations for shale gas

Clearly, energy is Turkey’s vulnerable underbelly and it needs to be enhanced through new sources, including shale gas. The country is in dire need of energy supplies to fuel its rapidly growing economy – despite some difficulties Turkey’s GDP still grew 4 % to $826 billion last year.

However, the picture is not as rosy as it looks at first sight. Turkey’s balance of payments remains in red. The current account deficit increased from $49 billion in 2012 to $65 billion in 2013. This “financial gap” is mostly driven by the country’s “energy bill” – the country’s oil & gas imports alone reached $56 billion in 2013. Turkey buys from abroad up to 98 % of its demand in natural gas and up to 93 % of its oil consumption.

Ankara knows how to cope with this challenge. Drastic reduction of hydrocarbon imports is one of the three major energy goals for the decade to come. While Turkey is unlikely to become energy self-sufficient in the near future, the new sources of imported and domestically produced energy supplies are vital for sustaining the Turkish economy’s growth and competitiveness.
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