Europe is poised to experience a hard winter amid the growing energy crisis with supply scarcities, the Turkish president said Tuesday.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan remarked ahead of a Balkan tour where he will visit Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Croatia, respectively, that although many European countries face hardship, Türkiye has sufficient natural gas supplies to meet demand.
The president said the energy dispute between European countries and Russia have escalated into a showdown in which Russia is using natural gas as a political tool.
'Europe is actually reaping what it sowed. Europe's attitude towards [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and the sanctions they have been imposing have inevitably brought Putin to the point where he is using all the opportunities and tools at his disposal…,' he said.
EU countries are struggling with rising energy prices and scarcity of energy supplies after Russia cut gas to Europe for an indeterminate time after G7 member states agreed Friday to cap Russia's crude oil export prices.
Soon after this decision was announced, Russian energy giant Gazprom said its key Nord Stream pipeline, which supplies gas to Europe, would remain shut due to a technical issue and could not restart until it is fixed.
Gazprom was due to reopen gas supplies via the Nord Stream pipeline on Saturday, which had been halted due to maintenance for three days on Aug. 31.
- Türkiye's more diversified gas sources an advantage
By diversifying energy sources, Türkiye has acquired sufficient supplies to cope with demand. The country imports natural gas from Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia through pipelines, and buys liquefied natural gas from Qatar, Nigeria, Norway, Algeria and the US.
The country’s natural gas storage facilities also ensure the security of supply by holding enough gas to cover the needs of the country for more than one month. The country has two facilities -- the Silivri underground natural gas storage facility and the salt caverns at the Salt Lake underground natural gas storage facility.
Türkiye's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez gave reassurance on Aug. 11 that no disruptions to natural gas supply are expected this winter provided suppliers comply with their shipment plans.
He said that total natural gas storage capacity will increase by almost 50% in the Silivri underground facility from 3.2 billion cubic meters (bcm) to 4.6 bcm by the year's end.
Türkiye aims to increase the occupancy rate of its natural gas storage facilities to 100% this month.
Donmez also highlighted the role that LNG plays in providing security of supply and energy diversification for the country, which currently hosts four LNG terminals.
A fifth terminal is under construction in Saros in the Edirne province, which should take 12 months to complete. A Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) is also an option that is in the works for use as a backup, he said.
By Sibel Morrow and Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr