Turkish gas hub project one of Ankara's energy goals, says minister

Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has said the gas hub project proposed by Russia is one of Ankara's targets in the energy sector.

"We have a lot of work to do. I believe that the 'century of Türkiye' (the Republic of Türkiye will celebrate its centenary this year) will only make sense if it becomes the century of energy. Being a gas hub is part of that, there are many other things. Our main goal is to start new investments and reforms. We need to attract huge investments to Türkiye," the Milliyet newspaper quoted Bayraktar as saying.

"[The Russian energy giant] Gazprom and Ankara continue to work on the issue of creating a gas hub in Türkiye, with the Russian side presenting its concept, parameters and operating principles,” the company said in its annual report.

The Turkish gas hub was first talked about in October 2022. Then, two weeks after Nord Stream was blown up, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the lost volume of Russian gas transit could be moved to the Black Sea region. Putin mentioned the possibility of creating a gas hub in Türkiye, which could become a platform for supplies to other countries, especially Europe, as well as for determining gas prices, which have increased several times since 2021 - to historic records.