By Muhsin Baris Tiryakioglu
ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's total natural gas imports decreased by 4.74 percent in November 2016 compared to November 2015, according to Turkey's energy watchdog data on Tuesday.
Turkey's total natural gas imports fell to 4.35 billion cubic meters (bcm) in November 2016 from 4.57 bcm in November 2015, Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) announced in its Natural Gas Market Report for November 2016.
The country imported 3.82 bcm of natural gas via pipelines and 530 million cubic meters (mcm) as liquefied natural gas (LNG), EMRA's data shows.
Turkey imported 2.5 bcm of natural gas from Russia, 705 mcm from Iran and 576 mcm from Azerbaijan.
Turkish natural gas production increase from 29.3 mcm in November 2015 to 29.9 mcm in November 2016, the majority of which came from the north-western Tekirdag province with 15.2 mcm.
In addition, Turkey's natural gas exports increased by 16.7 percent to 39 mcm in November 2016 with Greece being the only importing country.
- Rise in consumption
The country's natural gas consumption increased by 9.49 percent to 4.39 bcm in November 2016, from 4.01 bcm in November 2015.
In November 2016, household facilities consumed 1.1 bcm of natural gas -- 32.71 percent more than November 2015. Household's natural gas consumption constituted 25.3 percent of the country's total consumption.
According to EMRA's data, Turkey stored 2.28 bcm of natural gas in November 2016 in comparison to 2.66 bcm in November 2015 -- a decrease of 14.09 percent in natural gas storage.