Turkey's political stability attracts Asian energy giants

The recent political stability following the decisive results of the Nov. 1 parliamentary elections has attracted Asian energy giants to Turkey. Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) President Mustafa Yılmaz said mergers and acquisitions enjoyed an upswing in business following the elections. Explaining that foreign investors attach great importance to political stability, Yılmaz said the Japanese company Sumitomo wants to build compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal complexes and filling facilities in Turkey. Chinese companies are also looking for investment opportunities in the energy sector, he said, adding: "They want to construct renewable energy and coal production facilities. They want to build a power plant with a capacity of 320 megawatts [MW] and they are seeking additional investments." According to Yılmaz, Turkey's natural gas consumption will reach 50 billion cubic meters in 2015 and will surpass this figure in 2016. Explaining that electricity consumption is directly proportional to economic growth, Yılmaz said that electricity consumption is expected to increase by some 6 percent and its production is expected to rise by nearly 4 percent in 2016. So far a net installed capacity of 2,650 MW has been put into use and this figure will rise to 3,000 MW by the end of the year, Yılmaz said.