Following the arrival of Turkmen gas to Türkiye in early March, relations between the two countries in the field of energy are deepening. Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar, who held talks in the capital of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, met with the President of the People's Council of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, and the President of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedov.
Minister Bayraktar also attended the meeting held within the scope of the Year of Peace and Security and announced that they wanted to establish partnerships with the host country in the development of oil and natural gas fields both on Turkmenistan's land and in the Caspian Sea.
He Explained His Energy Perspective
Minister Bayraktar attended the “Year of Peace and Security: International Conference on Regional Economic Cooperation for Achieving Sustainable Development” in Ashgabat. Bayraktar gave a speech here and shared Türkiye’s energy perspective with the participants. Bayraktar stated that the year 2025 was declared as the “International Year of Peace and Security” by the United Nations upon the initiative of Turkmenistan and emphasized the need to increase cooperation in the energy sector. Bayraktar stated that the only way to overcome difficulties is to establish long-term partnerships based on mutual trust and that Türkiye has shaped its energy strategy on two fundamental challenges.
Energy Security and Independence
Bayraktar noted that one of these is energy security, pointing out that Türkiye's energy demand has tripled in the last 20 years and will increase by approximately 3 percent each year for the next 20 years. Bayraktar stated that the second fundamental challenge is energy independence, and emphasized that Türkiye imported all of its natural gas until the discovery in the Sakarya Gas Field, and that 5 percent of today's oil needs are met through imports.
Historical Step
Bayraktar explained that they developed a comprehensive energy strategy to overcome the difficulties and mentioned that regional cooperation has come to the forefront within this framework. Bayraktar reminded that they took a historic step as of March 1 and imported natural gas from Turkmenistan, and said, “Thus, for the first time, we are supplying natural gas via pipeline from a country that is not our border neighbor. This step is of great importance not only in terms of diversifying our natural gas supply but also in terms of Turkmenistan’s natural gas reaching the West, to Europe.”
New Partnerships
Bayraktar said that they hope that in the future, with the construction of the Trans-Caspian Natural Gas Pipeline, more natural gas can be transferred from Turkmenistan to Türkiye and through Turkey to Europe. “At the same time, there are great opportunities in the upstream sector that will make this connection more meaningful. For this reason, we also want to establish a partnership with Turkmenistan in the development of oil and gas fields in Turkmenistan and the Caspian Sea.”
Electricity is Next
Underlining that Türkiye aims to increase electricity interconnection and electricity trade with its neighbors, Bayraktar said, “While strengthening our current connections with Bulgaria and Greece, we are also developing projects to increase electricity trade with countries such as Georgia, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Syria. By providing electricity to Syria, we are contributing to the reconstruction of normal life in this country. With the construction of the Trans-Caspian Electricity Line, Turkmenistan electricity will also be able to reach consumer markets in the future.”
High Level Acceptance
As part of his contacts, Minister Bayraktar was also received separately by the Chairman of the People's Council of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov.
Energy Projects
Minister Bayraktar also met with Deputy Chairman of the Turkmenistan Oil and Natural Gas Council of Ministers Batır Amanov and Turkmengaz President Maksat Babayev and discussed the latest status of the energy projects jointly developed by the two countries.
