Turkey Cancels Gas Deal with Russia

State-owned Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ), has canceled a natural gas supply deal with Russia’s Gazprom after failing to agree on discounts

The dispute ended the contract for 6 billion cubic meters of gas yearly, Gazprom’s press service confirmed, without elaborating.

Turkey imported 18 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia last year, about 60 percent of its total domestic gas consumption, much of which flows through the Blue Stream pipeline. The cancelation means Turkey loses supply for some 15 percent of its gas needs.

The cancellation doesn’t mean natural gas purchases from Russia will stop, according to Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız.

Firms from Turkey’s private sector will probably sign new contracts with Gazprom, the world’s biggest gas producer and Russia’s exporter of fuel, within three months to continue the gas flows, the minister said according to the Anatolia News Agency.

“Russia is the most important country for our natural gas imports. Our annual natural gas import from three channels in Russia is nearly 30 billion cubic meters,” Yıldız told the agency.

“Our annual natural gas consumption is nearly 37 billion cubic meters. On the other hand, Turkey is able to import 45 billion cubic meters of natural gas under its agreements,” he said.

Yıldız said 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.”

Source: Hurriyet

Further Reading: No Give and Take Deals with Russia