Turkey's natural gas imports increased by 15% in September this year compared to the same month of 2020, according to data of Turkey's energy watchdog on Tuesday.
Natural gas imports increased to around 4.28 billion cubic meters (bcm) from approximately 3.72 bcm for the same month of 2020, Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) said in its monthly natural gas market report.
In September, the country imported 3.62 bcm of natural gas via pipelines, while 653 million cubic meters (mcm) was purchased as LNG, EMRA's data showed. This marked an increase of 16.1% and 9%, respectively.
Russia was Turkey's top gas import destination, supplying 2 bcm of natural gas while Iran and Azerbaijan followed with 888.3 mcm and 738 mcm, respectively.
Turkey's gas imports from Russia and Iran grew by 7.9% and 72.5%, respectively in September, while imports from Azerbaijan declined by 2% compared to the same period of 2020.
Turkey's total gas consumption also increased by 23.6% to approximately 4.07 bcm compared to the same month of 2020.
Household consumption grew by 23.5% to 304.8 mcm, while the use of gas in power plants increased by 30.8% to 1.86 bcm during the same period.
Consumption growth in natural gas power plants, which generated more electricity due to drought and lower hydro capacity over the last few months, continues to boost imports.
The natural gas volume in storage in September 2021 increased by 1.7% to around 2.86 bcm compared to about 2.81 bcm in September last year.
By Nuran Erkul Kaya
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr