Turkey and Turkmenistan have signed an agreement to facilitate the flow of Turkmen natural gas to Turkey, marking a significant step in energy cooperation between the two countries, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar.
The deal, between Turkey’s state-owned pipeline operator BOTAŞ and Turkmenistan’s Turkmengaz, aims to begin gas flow on March 1, he said.
Turkey consumes more than 50 billion cubic meters of gas per year. It relies on a mix of piped gas from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, along with LNG imports from various suppliers.
“With this agreement, which we have been working on for many years, we will further advance the strategic cooperation between the two countries while strengthening the natural gas supply security of our country and region,” Bayraktar said in a statement.
The minister had previously said Turkey could buy up to 2 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Turkmenistan, with the gas expected to be transported via Iran’s existing natural gas network.
Specific details regarding the volume of gas to be supplied under the new agreement and the exact terms of transit through Iran were not disclosed.