Greek gas utility DEPA says wins case over supply deal with Turkey's BOTAS - REUTERS

JANUARY 16, 2020 / 12:47 PM

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece’s state-controlled gas utility DEPA, earmarked for privatization this year, has won a legal case over a supply deal with Turkish state energy company BOTAS, DEPA said on Thursday.

The International Court of Arbitration (ICC) ruled on Wednesday that BOTAS should cut retrospectively the contractual gas prices that DEPA has paid, DEPA said in a statement.

The ruling is the last step in a 10-year legal battle between DEPA and BOTAS and its impact is being assessed by DEPA, it added.

A source with knowledge of the matter said new pricing would apply from 2011 to the present and that DEPA had paid BOTAS $181 million under a previous ruling of the arbitration court as part of the legal case which started in 2009.

BOTAS was not immediately available to comment.

Botas LNG purchase tender seeks US, Russian supply - OIL & GAS EURASIA

01.NOV.2019

Turkey’s Botas issued a tender to purchase 70 cargoes of LNG (liquefied natural gas) for delivery over 2020-2023, two days after the US lifted sanctions.

The US imposed sanctions earlier in October in response to Turkey’s military offensive in northern Syria. The LNG tender will close on Nov. 8.

Heavily dependent on pipeline gas imports from Russia, Turkey is aiming to reduce Russian imports and diversify its gas sources. It has already reduced flows from Russia’s Gazprom significantly this year, while increasing LNG purchases and gas imports from Azerbaijan.

Botas buys LNG on a long-term basis from Nigeria and Algeria. The contract with Nigeria expires in 2021, while a deal with Algeria’s Sonatrach runs until late 2024. There is also a mid-term contract with Qatargas expiring next year.

The degree to which Turkey will increase its LNG imports depends however on price. The Turkish news site yenisafak.com quoted Danila Bochkarev, a senior fellow at the EastWest Institute, as saying: “LNG should be cheaper than pipeline gas in order to gain an additional share of the Turkish market.”

TANAP delivers 2.39 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey as of August - DAILY SABAH

27.09.2019 
BARIŞ ERGIN

The amount of gas the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) has carried to Turkey has reached 2.39 billion cubic meters as of August, TANAP General Manager Saltuk Düzyol said.

"A total of 30%, corresponding to $450 million, of the revenue of $1.45 billion that will be generated when the total transmission capacity is reached, will belong to BOTAŞ [Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Corporation] every year. We predict that TANAP will reach a full transmission capacity of 16 billion cubic meters in two to three years," Düzyol told a group of journalists in Ankara yesterday.

The 1,850-kilometer TANAP forms the backbone of the Southern Gas Corridor, a project to increase and diversify European energy supply by bringing gas resources from the Caspian Sea: Shah Deniz 2 gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey and through Turkey to Europe markets.

State veto rights for DEPA Trade despite minority stake - ENERGY PRESS

28/FEB/2019

Investors preparing for gas utility DEPA’s upcoming privatization will face ambiguous operating conditions as the Greek State, to begin by offering a majority 50.1 percent stake in DEPA Trade following an imminent company split ahead of the sale, is expected to maintain veto rights on a number of strategic matters despite its minority status in this trade venture.

Key issues to concern DEPA Trade will include the gas utility’s long-term agreements with major suppliers such as Russia’s Gazprom, Algeria’s Sonatrach and Turkey’s Botas.

DEPA’s contract with Gazprom, which runs until 2026 and is the biggest of all three, features a take-or-pay clause requiring the Greek gas utility to order no less than 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year or face fines.

DEPA’s supply agreements with Sonatrach and Botas both expire in 2021. The Botas agreement will not be extended as the soon-to-be-launched TAP project will provide direct supply to Greece from Azerbaijan. DEPA has already signed an agreement for one billion cubic meters of TAP-related natural gas per year.

Subsequently, the Greek State will maintain its influence over DEPA’s supply contracts with Sonatrach and Gazprom.

Management Committee reviews progress of TurkStream project - GAZPROM

September 5, 2018, 16:40

The Gazprom Management Committee reviewed the current status of the TurkStream project.

It was noted that the project was going according to schedule. Specifically, the deep-water pipelaying for the offshore part of the gas pipeline’s first string had been completed in the Black Sea along with the construction of the second string in Russia’s exclusive economic zone. On June 26, 2018, the Pioneering Spirit vessel had started to lay the second string in the Turkish exclusive economic zone. As of today, over 1,520 kilometers of the two strings are ready, which translates into about 81 per cent of the overall length of TurkStream’s offshore section.

Particular attention at the meeting was paid to the efforts being taken on the coasts of Russia and Turkey. It was highlighted that the landfall near the Russian town of Anapa had been completed and the continuing start-up and commissioning operations would be finished in 2018 together with landscaping. In addition, a receiving terminal is being constructed in the coastal area near the Turkish settlement of Kiyikoy.

UPDATE 2-Turkey's Botas hikes natural gas price for power generation by 50 pct - sources - REUTERS

JULY 31, 2018 / 10:55 PM

Orhan Coskun

• Turkey links gas prices to dollar
• Energy regulation authority hikes electricity prices
• Botas also hikes natural gas prices for residential use (Adds hikes to electricity and natural gas consumer prices)

ANKARA, July 31 (Reuters) - Turkey’s state pipeline operator Botas will hike the price of natural gas used for electricity production by 50 percent as of Wednesday, sources said.

The price hike was “inevitable” due to a weaker lira pushing oil and natural gas prices higher, as Turkey is mostly dependent on energy imports, energy sources told Reuters.

Earlier on Tuesday, the central bank hiked its crude oil price assumption to $73 from $68.

TSE Petrofac JV secures PMC services contract in Turkey - WORLD OIL

JULY/19/2018

ST. HELIER -- Petrofac, in a joint venture (JV) with Turkish Standards Institution (TSE), has secured a three-year, multi-million-dollar Project Management Consultancy (PMC) services contract in support of the BOTAŞ North Marmara Underground Gas Storage Expansion Project (Phase III) in Turkey.

The existing facility, located approximately 60 km west of Istanbul, has been in operation since 2007 and BOTAŞ intends to expand its working gas capacity to 4.6 Bcm. The TSE Petrofac JV is responsible for managing and supervising areas which will cover the main phases and scopes of work. These include detailed design, engineering, procurement, construction, drilling and decommissioning, along with commissioning and start-up activities.

Delek Shares Tumble on Report That Israel-Turkey Gas-export Deal Is in Jeopardy - HAARETZ

TheMarker Feb 06, 2018 1:10 AM

Eran Azran

Shares of Yitzhak Tshuva’s Delek Group tumbled Monday after Bloomberg News reported that plans to develop an undersea pipeline to deliver Israeli natural gas to Turkey looked increasingly troubled amid fraying bilateral relations. Israel has shifted its priorities to exporting to Egypt and Europe, markets with their own political problems or high costs, Bloomberg said, citing two unnamed sources. Turkish pipeline company Botas canceled a December visit to Israel, Bloomberg said. None of the companies involved would comment. 

In another setback for Delek, Moody’s lowered the outlook for the B3-rated debt held by Ithaca, Delek’s wholly owned North Sea energy company, to Negative. Moody’s said it was concerned about the low output rate at Ithaca’s Stella field, the cash flow from which is supposed to help repay the company’s $750 million in debt and reduce its leveraging. Shares of Delek, which owns 45.3% of Israel’s giant Leviathan gas field, finished down 7.45% at 542 shekels ($156.97).

Fraying Israel-Turkey Ties Threaten Planned Gas Venture - BLOOMBERG

February 5, 2018, 5:49 PM GMT+2Yaacov Benmeleh and David Wainer

• Israeli companies said to shift deal focus to Egypt, Europe
• Erdogan’s public condemnations have angered Israeli officials

A U.S.-backed initiative to build an undersea natural gas pipeline between Israel and Turkey looks increasingly troubled as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan escalates his public denunciations of the Jewish state.

Israel has shifted its priorities to exporting to Egypt and other markets because of the growing discord with Turkey, according to two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue is sensitive. Efforts to reach governmental understandings with Turkey continue but the pace of talks has fallen off sharply, one of them said.

Gas supply changes in Turkey - NATURAL GAS WORLD / THE OXFORD INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY STUDIES

Jan 10, 2018 11:59:pmOIES | Gulmira Rzayeva

SUMMARY

The Turkish government is in the process of making significant structural changes in the country’s energy sector in attempts to lessen its dependence on current import and transmission infrastructure capacity which is constrained and cannot meet gas demand in peak periods.

The Turkish government is in the process of making significant structural changes in the country’s energy sector in attempts to lessen its dependence on current import and transmission infrastructure capacity which is constrained and cannot meet gas demand in peak periods. It intends to diversify supply sources and gas import types (both pipeline gas and LNG/FSRU) to ensure imports are available from a wider range of available sources on competitive terms, at the same time storing more gas in the country once downstream infrastructure capacity allows, to export the excess of gas in the future.

 Consequently, BOTAŞ expects its maximum daily gas supply capacity to almost double by 2023, from the current 252 mcm/d (including storage capacity) to 473 mcm/d as new projects come on stream. This will extend Turkey’s ability to import gas from various sources by eliminating technical constraints. By doing so, Turkey intends to ensure supply security during the peak demand seasons and to reduce its dependence on existing suppliers, allowing it room to manoeuvre between them and other new options. 

Turkey is also expanding capacity at its existing LNG receiving terminals and building new FSRUs, taking advantage of the fact that this method of importing natural gas is available in a flexible and near immediate manner. This will give BOTAŞ and private companies an advantage in meeting the growing demand in winter time, instead of having to increase annual pipeline contract quantities (ACQ) due to the application of “take or pay” clauses.

Why Turkey supports TurkStream, TANAP? - ANADOLU AGENCY

11.01.2018 

Murat Temizer

With TANAP and TurkStream, Turkey will gain spare capacity for extra gas imports from new sources and for future re-exports

ANKARA - Turkey's new supply sources with new TANAP and TurkStream natural gas pipelines will help supply security and help meet demand surges in line with the Turkish government's energy policy to diversify sources, according to the latest report of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES) on Thursday.

The Gas Supply Changes in Turkey report written by Gulmira Rzayeva, a fellow in the OIES discerned that the Turkish government is in the process of making significant structural changes to the country’s energy sector and the country expects two natural gas pipeline projects to be operational in the near future.

EBRD grants $500M in financing to TANAP - KALLANISH ENERGY

October 19, 2017

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) approved Wednesday a $500 million loan to help finance construction of the $8.6 billion Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), Kallanish Energy reports.

The project will deliver “crucial energy supplies from the Caspian Sea through to Europe along the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), and make an important contribution to the energy security and diversification (in Europe),” the EBRD said.

The 1,850-kilometer (1,150-mile) line accounts for over half of the 3,500 km (2,174-mile) SGC pipeline system, and will transport 16 billion cubic meters per year (Bcm/y – 564.8 billion cubic feet, Bcf/y) by 2020.

Turkey will consume 6 Bcm/y (211.8 Bcf) and the remaining 10 Bcm/y (353 Bcf/y) have already been contracted by several European gas traders, mostly in the Italian market.

Some $1.4 billion of financing loans were granted last year for TANAP — $800 million from the World Bank and $600 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The European Investment Bank (EIB) is considering to finance $2 billion of the project, but its final decision is due next month.

EBRD to provide $500M for TANAP -DAILY SABAH - ANADOLU AGENCY

ANKARA, August 4, 2017

On Oct. 18, the board of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) should approve a $500 million financing package for Azerbaijan's Southern Gas Corridor Inc. to be used for the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project, the largest part of the Southern Gas Corridor.

An EBRD statement pointed out that the World Bank approved $800 million in financing and the Asian Development Bank approved $600 million in financing for TANAP, which will cost $8.6 billion.

Also, the statement indicates the European Investment Bank is considering providing financing for TANAP, emphasizing that the project is important for Turkey and Europe in terms of energy security and resource diversity.

Nigeria To Play A Major Role In Turkey’s Energy Sector - OILPRICE.com

Jul 29, 2017, 10:00 AM CDT

Shadow Governance Intel

Nigeria is one of Turkey’s largest trading partners in Africa, and trade remains an integral component of Nigeria – Turkey bilateral relations. In 2014, trade between the two countries reached approximately US $2.5 billion. However, this figure fell to US $1.5 billion in 2015 and approximately US $1 billion in 2016, largely due to a drop in global oil and gas prices.

Over the past several decades, Nigeria has become one of Turkey’s most important providers of liquid natural gas (LNG), currently accounting for more than 20 percent of LNG imports. However, this trade relationship has the potential to develop and expand as the global LNG market flourishes, and both the Turkish and Nigerian governments invest in furthering their domestic LNG sectors.

BOTAŞ agrees on financing Turkish Stream with Russia’s Gazprom - DAILY SABAH

Pioneering Spirit passes through Bosporus-May 31,2017(AA Photo)

11 July 2017

The state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Company (BOTAŞ) reached an agreement on financing the Turkish Stream pipeline with the Russian state-owned gas and oil giant Gazprom, the Turkish company's General Manager Burhan Özcan said Monday.

"We have already agreed with them on the issue [of financing]. However, I cannot disclose any figures, in what percentage ratio will we do this," Özcan said, speaking at the 22nd World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul.

The BOTAŞ head said that the process of obtaining permits for the second line of TurkStream continues in a positive way, adding that "there are no pitfalls in it."

Gazprom may exit domestic Turkish natural gas market - RUSSIA TODAY

Pioneering Spirit, the vessel to construct the offshore part of the Turkish
Stream gas pipeline passes Istanbul on May 31, on the way to Russia 

28 Jun, 2017 09:43

Russian gas monopoly Gazprom is expected to leave the Turkish market and will concentrate on gas sales to Turkey, reports business daily Kommersant.

Gazprombank is completing the withdrawal from Promak, a company which owns a 60 percent stake in the two importers of Russian gas to Turkey - Enerco and Avrasya, the newspaper writes.

Gazprom Deputy Chairman Aleksandr Medvedev said the company plans to sell another Turkish asset - Bosphorus Gaz.

According to Medvedev, the Turkish market is "unpredictable" and loses appeal due to the weakening of the lira and regulated tariffs. Kommersant’s sources in the industry said Bosphorus lost about €100 million in 2016.

Turkish market expects rise in power tariff but not gas - ICIS

21 June 2017 11:58

Aura Sabadus

Turkish energy companies expect an average 4% power tariff hike from as early as July, but a natural gas tariff rise is unlikely to happen until the end of the year at the earliest, according to a survey conducted by ICIS.

The market is expecting an average gas tariff rise of 6.5%.

Tariff increases help guarantee minimum margins for companies active in the gas and power sectors and tend to trigger increases in free-floating electricity and gas prices.

A total of 11 companies responded to the survey and their expectations related to the tariff hike and the likely timeline for the increase are given in the graphs [herein].

Turkish natural gas demand slowdown set to persist as Ankara shifts tack: OIES report - PLATTS

London (Platts)--24 Apr 2017 852 am EDT/1252 GMTBy Stuart Elliott, Edited by Dan Lalor
Turkish gas demand -- which five years ago was expected to almost double to 81 Bcm/year by 2030 -- is unlikely to even reach 60 Bcm/year in the near future as a result of a deliberate effort by Ankara to reduce the country's dependence on imported gas, a paper published Monday by the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies concludes.

Turkish gas demand fell last year for the first time since 2009 to 46 Bcm and is expected to be stagnant this year as Turkey looks to depend more on domestic resources for power generation, particularly hydro, coal, lignite, and wind and solar energy, the OIES said in the report.

The OIES said it expects a fall in gas consumption in the power sector in 2017 to be balanced by moderate growth in the residential and industry sectors.

Turkey pipelines carried 500M barrels of crude oil in 2016 - DAILY SABAH

23.2.2017

Pipelines in Turkey carried a total of around 500 million barrels of crude oil for global markets in 2016, 50.9 percent of which was transported via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Crude Oil Pipeline (COP).

According to data released by the Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ), approximately 500 million barrels of crude oil were transported through Iraq-Turkey COP, Ceyhan-Kırıkkale COP, Batman-Dörtyol COP and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan COP. The figure was around 1.2 percent less compared to the previous year's 505.3 million barrels. Last year approximately 254 million barrels were transferred through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan COP, some 50.9 percent of the total figure. In addition, 190 million barrels were transported through the Iraq-Turkey COP, 35.3 million were carried through the Ceyhan-Kırıkkale COP, and close to 20 million barrels were delivered through the Batman-Dörtyol COP during the same period.

Connecting the East Med - IN CYPRUS / CYPRUS WEEKLY

February 11, 2017
Spyros Papavassiliou

Constantinos Papalucas is a former Associate with the Environment and Natural Resources Program (ENRP) at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs where he focused on the issues surrounding the gas finds and the emerging energy hubs in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Asked about the state of the global market for gas and oil, Papalucas says that the world has enjoyed a period of low prices of oil, but also low prices of natural gas, because of the existence of oil-linked natural gas contracts.

In addition, since the end of 2014, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market is in an oversupply mode, creating an LNG glut.

“The demand from the world’s three largest players – Japan, Korea and China, which make for 60% of the global LNG imports – declined,” says Papalucas, who has also served on the US House Energy and Commerce Committee.