- The Writer holds听an MSc in Eurasian Political Economy & Energy听from King鈥檚 College London and听also an听MA in European Studies from Sabanc谋 University.
Qatar is one of the biggest LNG exporters in the world and has the third largest volume of conventional natural gas reserves after Russia and Iran.听 Qatar has 25.4 trillion cubic meters (tcm) of gas reserves, equal to 13.1 percent of the world鈥檚 proven gas reserves, according to BP statistical review of world energy 2015. Given Russia鈥檚 total gas reserves of 31.1 tcm and its vast land, and considering Qatar鈥檚 far smaller territory and the volume of available gas, the significance of its reserves is evident.
From 2014, Qatar produced 177.2 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas, as indicated by BP statistics. The steady increase in the volume of gas produced, particularly over the last ten year period, has shown both increasing demand in gas as well as Qatar鈥檚 ability to meet global growing needs for gas between 2003 to 2013.
In a special report published in 2015 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Qatar鈥檚 natural gas flows, it notes that domestic consumption in the country remained stable since 2003, while overall gas production has increased at a staggering rate since then. Mostly Asian countries, particularly Japan and South Korea, have triggered this incremental increase in demand for LNG.
In recent years, Turkey has procured a volume of 1.2 bcm of LNG from Qatar from the spot market. The advantages provided by short-term spot market pricing are notable and beneficial for Turkey since it serves the gas market when extra volumes of gas are required during peak times.
In an interview with the Qatari ambassador to Turkey, Salem Mubarak Al-Shafi, he pointed out that Turkey and Qatar signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Dec. 2, 2016 for long-term LNG trade between the parties. In response to the question of Turkey鈥檚 potential importing capacity, the ambassador stated that LNG export volumes very much hinge on the technical capacities of both countries.
Turkey has two LNG terminals, one operated by Botas at the Marmara Eregli terminal and the other belonging to Egegaz and operated in 陌zmir鈥檚 Aliaga. As of 2015, Turkey imported 7.5 bcm of LNG from three major sources, namely: Nigeria, Algeria and from the spot market. The long-term LNG contracts signed with Nigeria and Algeria cover the period of twenty-two and twenty years respectively.
Turkey鈥檚 LNG consumption reached approximately fifteen percent, indicating that LNG has been gaining ground against that of pipeline-based sources which has been reflected in its rising trend in recent years. Therefore, it is emphatic that establishing a stronger LNG market would serve Turkey well. In comparison with LNG, pipeline-based natural gas imports reached 39.7 bcm in 2015, which has been the dominant source of gas in Turkey鈥檚 gas mixture since the beginning of the first gas agreement signed back in 1984 between Turkey and the U.S.S.R.
Turkey, in terms of both its price compatibility and energy security, should expand its overall LNG investments in the mid and long term. Given Turkey鈥檚 reliance on pipeline gas from Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan; Qatar stands as one of the most promising LNG suppliers among all the others in helping Turkey diversify its supply sources away from pipeline gas producers.
Although constructing a LNG terminal, especially in the short-run, is not an easy task and requires large amounts of capital, a progressive increase in LNG cargo shipments as a percentage of the total volume of gas imported should be considered a key target. Additionally, lessons learned from major pioneering LNG terminals constructed in Spain, France and the U.K. should be studied for the benefit of improving Turkey鈥檚 LNG capacity.
If Turkey builds up new LNG terminals and increases the volume of gas storage in the mid-term, it will be both economically feasible and physically viable. It will also benefit Turkey in improving its energy security through diversification of gas sources.听听听
- Opinions expressed in this piece are the author鈥檚 own and do not necessarily reflect Anadolu Agency's editorial policy.听
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