Turkey's bargaining power in energy prices will rise following Iran's entrance to the energy market in the post sanctions era, the head of International Energy Agency, IEA, said on Tuesday.
'Iran's emergence in the energy market is a development that will make Turkey's hand stronger,' Fatih Birol, the executive director of IEA, told Anadolu Agency following its release of the World Energy Outlook 2015.
Iran, which holds the second largest natural gas reserves and the fourth largest oil resources globally, aims to boost its energy market following a July-deal with world powers to remove sanctions in return for curbing its nuclear activities.
'I strongly believe Turkey's bargaining power in energy supply on prices will grow,' Birol said, pointing to Iran's expected rise as a major supplier both in oil and gas.
Birol also predicted that low oil prices, which fell by more than 40 percent since last year, will not remain at its current levels over the next 10 to 15 years.
'We think oil prices will start to rise in the upcoming years,' Birol said, but they could remain low for a while.
Birol said it is the right time for the Turkish government to take necessary action without delay to avail of low oil prices to diminish its current account deficit, and to develop Turkey's energy industry mainly in renewables, nuclear energy and energy efficiency.
'I believe the Turkish government will take important steps with serious energy policies,' Birol said.
The director also said Turkey should benefit from nuclear energy as much as possible both for the country's energy security and in tackling climate change.
Reporting by Gokhan Kurtaran from London
Writing By Furkan Naci Top
Anadolu Agency
furkan.top@aa.com.tr