(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) The Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) at the Saros
Bay will begin operations in January 2023, energy and Natural
Resources Minister Fatih Donmez has said, noting that natural gas
consumption will be lower this year, trend reports citing hurriyet daily
news .
Talks with Oman on purchasing liquefied natural gas (LNG) are
still underway, Dönmez told reporters following a cabinet meeting.
“Talks are going well.”
Natural gas consumption is expected to be around 10 to 12
percent lower this year compared with 2021, Dönmez said, citing
milder weather as the reason.
Last year, 59.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas were
consumed in Türkiye, up 24 percent from 2020.
The latest report from the energy market regulator EPDK showed
that the country's natural gas imports declined by 20.6 percent in
September from a year ago to 3.4 billion cubic meters.
In the first nine months of 2022, Türkiye imported 41.5 billion
cubic meters of natural gas, a 3 percent decline from the same
period of 2021.
Domestic natural gas consumption amounted to 3.2 billion cubic
meters in September, down nearly 22 percent from a year ago.
Household consumption increased by 2.5 percent on an annual
basis to 312 million cubic meters, while the industry sector
reduced its use of natural gas by 19 percent to 1.03 billion cubic
meters.
In the first nine months of 2022, Türkiye imported 41.5 billion
cubic meters of natural gas, a 3 percent decline from the same
period of 2021.
The share of renewable in electricity generation was bigger this
year, Donmez said, adding that due to the drought natural gas was
used to produce power.
Last month, the minister announced that Türkiye may receive
natural gas from Indonesia and Malaysia. Donmez traveled to
Indonesia to attend G20 energy ministers gathering earlier this
year, where he had talks with officials.
Donmez also told reporters that the TurkStream pipeline works at
almost full capacity.
The TurkStream, which runs over 900 kilometers through the Black
Sea, delivers Russian natural gas to shore in Türkiye's Thrace
region.
“There is no difference between the capacity stated in the
contract and the pipeline's capacity,” Dönmez said.