Shell and Aygaz receive export gas licenses from Turkey

By Muhsin Baris Tiryakioglu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority, EMRA, has recently granted separate licenses to Shell and Turkish private gas company Aygaz for the export of natural gas from Turkey to Europe.

Following EMRA's approval, the number of gas export licenses issued to companies increased to 14, official information gathered by Anadolu Agency (AA) reveals.

"In addition to the rising number of gas exporting companies, we will see a capacity increase at Kipi Export Point, where natural gas is exported to Greece from Turkey," EMRA officials said.

New investments towards capacity increase at Kipi Export Point will provide new opportunities to companies like Shell and Aygaz, EMRA said.

Turkey aims to become a natural gas trading center in its region, and to this end, the country is expanding its pipeline network and the number of its LNG regasification facilities.

- Malkoclar can be a new export point

Greece currently offers the only gas export route from Turkey from where Turkey has re-exported Azerbaijani gas to Greece since 2007, while meeting almost one third of Greece's annual gas demand.

The TurkStream project to carry Russian gas to Turkey across the Black Sea will open up a new gas export option.

Turkey has four pipeline entry points and five Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) regasification facilities, but with the TurkStream project coming on line, the volume of daily natural gas imports is set to rise from 271.5 million cubic meters (mcm) to 334 mcm.

"With the completion of the TurkStream natural gas pipeline, the contracts of Russian-Turkey Natural Gas Pipeline [West Line] will be transferred to TurkStream. Thus, the Malkoclar Natural Gas Import Entry Point [Pressure Reducing and Metering Station] can provide a two-way flow of gas exports between the European natural gas systems with Turkey as a second point," EMRA officials explained.

The country's average natural gas consumption is 148 mcm per day, but can increase to 245-240 mcm per day in hard winter conditions.