Turkey key for energy security in region: minister

By Ebru Sengul, Gulsen Cagatay and Nuran Erkul

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey is a key country for establishing energy security in the region, energy minister said on Friday.

Turkey plays a key role in the changing trends in the global energy sector as one of the biggest energy consumers among OECD countries, said Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak who spoke at the Atlantic Council Istanbul Summit.

He explained that the country has huge investment plans and has made bid strides towards improving its natural gas sector and developing the country's gas storage capacity.

The country's aim is to raise natural gas capacity from the current 2.7 billion cubic meters to 11 billion cubic meters by 2023, Albayrak said.

It also plans to increase the number of pipelines crossing the country's borders to 10 from the current eight, he added.

Renewables and nuclear energy will also be added into the energy mix, and to this end, Turkey will continue to work towards contributing to energy supply security in the region and in working with its partners towards that goal, he said.