Türkiye on Friday held a long-awaited ceremony to mark an increase in capacity at its first underground natural gas storage facility, making it what officials say the biggest storage site in Europe.
Türkiye has been filling all of its gas storage units this year as the import-dependent country sought to secure energy supplies ahead of the winter and cope with energy prices that rocketed after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
The capacity increase will enable storing of 4.6 billion cubic meters of gas at the Silivri Natural Gas Storage Facility, up from an earlier capacity of 3.2 billion. The site’s daily withdrawal capacity of 28 million cubic meters (mcm) has been increased to 75 mcm.
“With the opening, Silivri has become the largest underground gas storage facility in Europe,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said.
“Our facility will be able to meet a quarter of our country's demand on its own, even in the most intensive consumption period,” Erdoğan said in his speech at the ceremony.
Two offshore platforms that were manufactured through domestic means had been set up off Silivri as part of works to boost the facility’s capacity. Expansion works were conducted at around 18 wells, officials have said.
Works on the capacity increase at the country’s second storage unit, Tüz Gölü (Lake Tuz), are also ongoing. Located in the central Aksaray province, the facility is currently able to store 1.2 bcm of natural gas a year.
Meanwhile, the Silivri unit also stands out as the first facility in Türkiye to have received a carbon footprint certificate and will have all of its electricity need met with a wind turbine featuring an installed capacity of 4.2 megawatts (MW).
Türkiye’s annual gas consumption rose from 48 bcm in 2020 to a record 60 bcm in 2021. Erdoğan said this year's consumption is expected to stand at around 53.5 bcm.
Earlier estimates had put the figure at up to 63 bcm but the power generated from renewable resources this year drove the gas consumption downward.
The annual gas consumption emphasizes the importance of the 4.6 billion cubic meter capacity at Silivri and the 5.4 billion cubic meter capacity that is targeted for Lake Tuz, Erdoğan said.
Russian gas covers almost half of Turkish energy needs. The country also imports gas from Iran and Azerbaijan through pipelines, and buys liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar, Nigeria, Norway, Algeria and the U.S.
Erdoğan said Türkiye has the 17th-largest supply in the world with the energy service it provides to its citizens and industry.
"We have determined our energy vision in such a way as to reduce our dependence on foreign sources from 71% to 13% in primary resources by 2053," he noted.
Gas hub
Meanwhile, Erdoğan also said Ankara and Moscow were taking necessary steps to make Türkiye an energy hub.
The remarks came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his country's plan to build a new “gas hub” in Türkiye. Putin said prices for sales to Europe would be defined using an “electronic platform” that would be set up at the center.
In October, Putin floated the idea of setting up a “gas hub” in Türkiye following mystery explosions that damaged Russia’s Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea and halted its direct gas sales to Germany.
Russia’s energy sales to the European Union have sharply fallen since the start of its war in Ukraine, as the EU moved to cut dependence on Moscow.
Russia supplied 40% of the EU gas market until Moscow on Feb. 24 sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in what it calls a "special military operation."
Since then, the West has introduced sweeping sanctions, including on Russian oil and gas, cut its purchases of Russia-sourced fuels and sought alternatives.
Putin has criticized Europe for choosing spot pricing mechanisms for gas instead of long-term contracts, which used to be the backbone of gas exports by Russia’s Gazprom and give the Kremlin-controlled company more certainty. He did not give any details about the proposed platform.
Without being specific, Putin has said a hub could be set up in Türkiye relatively quickly, and predicted customers in Europe would want to sign contracts.
Erdoğan backed Putin’s idea and both leaders instructed authorities to work on a roadmap that could be announced as soon as this month.
"Our goal is to transform our country into a global center where the reference price of natural gas is formed as soon as possible," Erdoğan said on Friday.
He had designated Türkiye’s Thrace region, bordering Greece and Bulgaria, as the best spot for the location of the proposed new hub.
"Thrace will particularly become a hub in natural gas and LNG," he said on Friday, Daily Sabah reports.
