Türkiye targets major gas storage expansion
MILANO
Türkiye aims to store 12 billion cubic meters of natural gas domestically by 2030 — nearly 20 percent of its annual demand — as part of a broad investment drive in gas projects, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has said.
Speaking at the Ministers’ Panel during the opening program of the Gastech 2025 Forum in Milan, Bayraktar noted that Türkiye has also invested heavily in regasification capacity, increasing it fivefold over the past seven to eight years. This expansion, he said, enables the country to bring more energy both to its own market and to Europe.
“We use regasification terminals to convert LNG back into gas, deliver it to the Bulgarian and Greek borders, and from there to the European market. In this way, we aim to secure our energy supply while also delivering substantial volumes of gas to Europe,” Bayraktar stated.
Outlining Türkiye’s energy vision, the minister said the country’s electricity demand is expected to triple over the next 30 years, rising from the current 350 terawatt-hours to 1,000 terawatt-hours. He emphasized ambitious renewable energy targets, aiming to quadruple renewable capacity by 2035, while also pursuing other energy sources. Plans include building a large-scale nuclear power plant and exploring small modular reactors with a combined capacity of around 5 gigawatts.
On the sidelines of Gastech, Türkiye’s state energy company BOTAŞ signed separate agreements with global energy giants BP, ENI, and Shell. The three-year deals will secure a total of 8.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
Under the agreement with BP, covering 2026–2028, BOTAŞ will receive 4.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The deal with Italy’s ENI, also for 2026–2028, will see the delivery of 1.5 billion cubic meters of LNG. Meanwhile, Shell will supply 2.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas to BOTAŞ over the same period.
