Turkey is in talks with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria on a large-scale electricity transmission link, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has said.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency at the 25th World Petroleum Council Energy Congress, Mr Bayraktar said cooperation between countries mattered more at a time when global energy markets faced crisis and uncertainty.
He said: “We are discussing a major mega interconnection project, an electricity transmission line project, between Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Turkey.”
He added that Turkey also wanted to develop energy cooperation with other countries, notably Libya, Iraq, Pakistan and Uzbekistan.
Mr Bayraktar said Turkey’s investment in energy infrastructure in recent years had contributed to regional supply security. Projects including the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), TurkStream, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline had created a strong network allowing energy to be moved in different directions.
He stressed the importance of making fuller use of that infrastructure. “We want to use our existing lines, our existing infrastructure, to the maximum. We want our lines to be full,” he said. “The Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline has a capacity of 1.5 million barrels a day. Let’s fill it.”
Turkey also aimed to improve its gas transport capacity, he said, with spare capacity on TANAP to be filled with additional gas so that more could be carried to Turkey and, through Turkey, to Europe.
Investment in regasification terminals and liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure also offered opportunities to bring more LNG into the country and pass it on to Europe, he said.
Mr Bayraktar said Turkey was continuing a strategy of diversifying its energy sources. “It is important to use different energy sources together and to increase cooperation between countries,” he said. “Turkey is developing projects not only to meet its own needs but to contribute to supply security at regional and European level.”
Describing world energy markets as facing one of the biggest crises of modern times, he said Turkey had experienced no problems with the security of supply of oil and oil products.
He said developments affecting production and supply in major oil producers such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran had increased pressure on global markets, and price volatility was affecting economies worldwide.
“A prolonged contraction in energy markets could have serious consequences for the global economy, and international cooperation needs to be developed to emerge from the crisis,” he said. “Energy markets can become more balanced only if regional tensions and the war come to an end.”
Mr Bayraktar also expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia over recent attacks by the Houthis on civilian airports.
“We are here as Turkey to show that we stand with our Saudi brothers,” he said. “We hope the heinous attacks come to an end, and I want to say once again that we are always by the side of our Saudi brothers. The Turkish people stand with the people of Saudi Arabia. We believe our Saudi brothers will overcome these difficult days.”