Türkiye is signing a new gas deal with Oman, the Turkish energy minister has announced, a move to diversify Ankara’s gas supplies.

“We will purchase 1.4 billion cubic metres of gas annually and our agreement will be valid for 10 years,” Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez at an even in Istanbul on Monday.

“At a time when the world, especially Europe, is suffering from gas supply problems, Türkiye is taking all steps to become a gas trade center,” he added.

Türkiye’s state-owned oil and trading company, BOTAS, executives are in Oman to expand the natural gas trade between the two countries, he said.

The minister also said the deal can be extended if the conditions are favourable.

Meanwhile, Donmez said that Türkiye and Bulgaria had also signed an agreement for the transmission of up to 1.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year that will cover 13-year period.

“At a time when the world, especially Europe, is suffering from gas supply shortages, Türkiye is taking all steps to become a gas trade hub,” the minister said.

The minister noted that, alongside Bulgaria, Türkiye also entered similar deals with North Macedonia, Romania and Moldova.

“We will bring European consumer nations and suppliers from the Middle East, the Mediterranean, the Caspian, Central Asia together in Istanbul Gas Summit, which will take place on February 14 to 15 in Istanbul,” Donmez noted, a move that will link Asian gas to Europe via Türkiye.

 

Becoming gas hub

Türkiye has advanced its gas resources and diversified its supplies with initiatives in the energy sector to become a global gas hub that will lead to determining natural gas reference prices.

“Our aim is to transform our country into a global centre where the natural gas reference price is determined as soon as possible,” Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in mid-December.

The country’s northwestern region of Thrace bordering both Greece and Bulgaria will become an especially important hub for both natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) with the increasing capacity of LNG and underground gas storage, he added at the event in the district of Silivri.

Since Russia began its military operation against Ukraine in mid-February, western nations declared sanctions on Russian companies and assets around the world that partially included its gas supplies.

In late October, Russian President Vladimir Putin said a natural gas hub could be set up in Türkiye, and he predicted that many in Europe would want to sign contracts for supplies.