At the Italian Gastech conference, Turkey signed a whole package of contracts for the supply of LNG in the next three years. Among the suppliers are German and Japanese companies nationalized from Gazprom, which resell gas. Experts note that Turkey is switching from spot LNG purchases to contract purchases.
During the two days of the Milan conference, the Turkish state-owned company Botas signed contracts with eight companies for the supply of LNG.
"We will purchase a total of about 15 billion cubic meters of LNG over three years, starting this winter," Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Thursday.
Suppliers will be both large international traders and large importers from Germany and Japan. German SEFE (formerly Gazprom Germania), which was nationalized from Gazprom in April 2022, will supply Turkey with 600 million cubic meters of gas per year for three years. And the Japanese Jera — 200 million cubic meters each.
Both companies are major importers of gas to their countries, but also engaged in the resale of fuel. Recently, they have signed long-term contracts in the USA.
At the same time, the only producers among the suppliers to Turkey were Norwegian Equinor and American Cheniere, the largest LNG producer in the USA. The first will supply Turkey with 1.5 billion cubic meters, and the second — 1.2 billion cubic meters in the form of LNG.
Alexey Grivach, Deputy Director of FNEB, noted to EADaily that Turkey is switching from spot purchases of liquefied natural gas to contract purchases.
The contracted volumes are unlikely to affect Gazprom's exports, which are growing this year along with Turkey's LNG purchases. In January-March alone, the country imported more than 5 billion cubic meters of LNG from the United States purchased on the spot market.
Another thing is the development of the Black Sea field of Turkey Sakarya. The Turkish TPAO has signed contracts for the third phase of field development, which will allow from 2028 to reach daily production of 40 million cubic meters (14.6 billion cubic meters per year). This is just over a quarter of Turkey's annual gas consumption. This year, production at the Black Sea fishery will amount to approximately 2.6 billion cubic meters.