ANKARA
The Ukraine crisis will not result in an energy crisis for Turkey, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said, due to the recent easing of tensions by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’s statements.
If Russia disrupts or halts the flow of natural gas through Ukraine to Turkey - Turkey receives a quarter of its natural gas supply from Ukraine – it will be seriously affected, Yildiz said, during a joint press conference with Minister of Energy, Mining and Industry of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Erdal Trhulj.
Turkey receives half of its total natural gas supply from Russia, half of which comes via Ukraine. The latest developments in Ukraine, which intensified after Russian forces advanced through Crimea, increased fears of interruptions in Turkey’s energy supply, and spikes in global energy prices.
“I don’t think the crisis will escalate to that critical level after Putin’s statements eased the tensions. We also had contact with Gazprom and we do not expect any interruptions regarding the supply.”
Negotiations with Iran continue
Meanwhile, the international arbitration process over issues of Iran’s natural gas prices and supplies is still in progress, Yildiz said.
The court has separated our appeal under two categories, ‘the shortages in delivery and price revision,’ and ‘general price level,’ as per our request, said Yildiz. “We expect a verdict on the first file around June and a verdict for the second file at the end of the year.”
The negotiations with Iran over natural gas prices still continue but Turkey is still waiting to receive a favorable offer, said Yildiz.
Energy-hungry Turkey imports 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas at a price tag of US$507 per cubic meter. However, Turkey has complained about Iran's high pricing and a lack of security, which sporadically halts gas flow.
The Turkish side appealed for international arbitration in January to intervene in the hope of agreeing on an acceptable market price between the two sides.
“1 million barrels of Iraqi crude is stored in Ceyhan”
The Minister said that the volume of Iraqi crude oil stored in Ceyhan, a Mediterranean port in southeastern Turkey, reached the level of one million barrels.
Turkey expects an agreement between the Federal Iraqi government and the northern Iraqi authority to allow Iraqi crude oil to flow through a pipeline that was built under Saddam Hussein.
“We expect a positive development between the two sides after last week, which saw Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his deputy, Huseyn Shehristani, agree to transfer a share of US$2.5 billion from the public budget to the Kurdish authority,” said the minister.
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