Türkiye is holding talks with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria on a major electricity interconnection project aimed at strengthening regional energy cooperation, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Monday.
Speaking to Anadolu on the sidelines of the 25th WPC Energy Congress, Bayraktar said cooperation among countries has become increasingly important at a time when global energy markets are facing crises and uncertainty.
“We are discussing a major interconnection project, an electricity transmission line project, between Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Türkiye,” Bayraktar said.
He added that Türkiye also seeks to expand energy cooperation with other countries, including Libya, Iraq, Pakistan and Uzbekistan.
Bayraktar said Türkiye’s investments in energy infrastructure in recent years had contributed to regional energy security, citing projects such as the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), TurkStream, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline.
Bayraktar stressed the need to make better use of existing infrastructure, noting that the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline has a capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day that should be fully utilized.
Türkiye also aims to expand its natural gas transportation capacity, Bayraktar said, adding that Ankara was looking to use available capacity on TANAP to transport additional gas to Türkiye and onward to Europe.
– LNG infrastructure offers opportunities to supply Europe with gas
Bayraktar said Türkiye’s investments in gasification terminals and liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure offered opportunities to bring more LNG into the country and transport it onward to Europe.
Türkiye is continuing to pursue its energy diversification strategy, he said, stressing the importance of making use of different energy sources and strengthening cooperation among countries.
“Making use of different energy sources together and increasing cooperation among countries are important. Türkiye is developing projects not only to meet its own needs but also to contribute to energy security across the region and Europe,” Bayraktar said.
Bayraktar said global energy markets were facing one of the most severe crises in modern history, but Türkiye had experienced no oil or petroleum product supply disruptions despite turmoil in international markets.
Developments affecting major oil producers such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran had increased pressure on global markets, he said, adding that price volatility was also affecting economies worldwide.
“Prolonged disruptions in energy markets could have serious consequences for the global economy. International cooperation must be strengthened to overcome the crisis. Energy markets can return to a more balanced state once regional tensions ease and the war ends,” Bayraktar said.
Bayraktar also expressed Türkiye’s solidarity with Saudi Arabia following recent Houthi attacks targeting civilian airports.
“We are here, in part, to show that we stand with our Saudi brothers and sisters. We hope these heinous attacks will come to an end, and we would like to reiterate that we will always stand by our Saudi brothers and sisters,” he said.
“The Turkish people stand with the people of Saudi Arabia. We believe our Saudi brothers and sisters will overcome these difficult days,” he added.