Turkey Passes Import Price Cuts to Customers

Gas prices for domestic and industrial consumers will fall by 10% from October 1, Turkey's energy minister Berat Albayrak said September 30.

The cut in price came 7 months after the International Court of Arbitration issued a verdict in favour of Turkey to get 13.3-15.8% discount in gas import from Iran. The sides have been struggling to decide on a specific figure in the range of 13.3-15.8% for discount still, but it’s expected that the discount will be agreed before winter. The 10% cut translates into $800mn less spent on gas in the domestic and industrial sector.

In 2012, Turkey sued Iran in for overpricing on gas purchases during the four-year 2011-2015. Turkey imported less than 9bn m³ of Iranian gas in 2015. Turkey also imports gas from Russia and Azerbaijan.

Earlier, the Russian federal customs service reported that the average price of gas exports in the first seven months of 2016 was $156.1/'1000 m³, which is down 35.6% on last year. There is not any official statistics about Azerbaijani gas price for Turkey.

The gas price for Turkey’s domestic sector differs, depending on distribution companies and regions, but, for instance, the figure is around Turkish lire 1,010/’000 m³ ($336.37) in Istanbul or Tl 1,289/’1000 m³ ($429.29) in Ankara.

Azerbaijan desk