ANKARA, November 27 (Itar-Tass) – Turkey’s private companies and Russia’s major producer and exporter of natural gas, OAO Gazprom, have agreed on long-term imports of Russian gas, Turkish media said Monday night.
Reports indicated that the transaction covers a period of over twenty years.
Interest towards Gazprom’s offers has been shown by the energy companies Akfel, Bosphorus Gaz, Kibar Holding, and Bati Hatti.
Akfel, Bosphorus Gaz and Kibar Holding have obtained licenses from the government for importing natural gas over a period of 30 years.
Bati Hatti will have an opportunity to get gas for 23 years via the ‘western corridor’ – the Trans-Balkan Pipeline, which crosses the territories of Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria before reaching the Turkish territory.
The pipeline has been used in the past by Turkey’s major energy corporation Botas for the imports of Russian gas. In 2011, the latter company did not prolong the agreement on supplies over the long term.
The government has issued import licenses to the three private companies against the background of efforts to liberalize the purchases of the ‘blue fuel’ and to expand the engagement of private businesses in them – something that the Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Taner Yildiz, has been calling for persistently.
Turkish-Russian relations in the sphere of energy are developing at a fair pace, he said at the end of last week, adding that an agreement with Gazprom has been signed.
The government does not expect any problems with the procurements of natural gas during the winter, Yildiz said.