An agreement has been reached on the transportation of natural gas from Turkmenistan to Türkiye through Azerbaijan and Georgia, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Tuesday.
Bayraktar and Azerbaijani Minister of Economy Mikayil Cabbarov attended the signing ceremony of the natural gas cooperation agreement between Türkiye and Azerbaijan in Istanbul.
They signed a comprehensive deal on capacity expansion for several natural gas pipelines.
Bayraktar said that this deal would allow for additional gas volumes from Azerbaijan and natural gas from the Caspian region to Türkiye and Europe by 2030, although the exact volumes have yet to be announced.
Both countries have several pipelines connecting their borders. The Iğdır-Nakhchivan natural gas pipeline, which will transmit gas to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Region in Azerbaijan, will be added to the pipelines that Türkiye and Azerbaijan will jointly develop.
According to Bayraktar, they anticipated that this winter, natural gas would be supplied to the strategic territory of Nakhcivan through the Iğdır-Nakhchivan pipeline after the line soon opens for operations.
The minister acknowledged that the deal included discussions on expanding the capacity of two existing pipelines: the South Caucasus Pipeline and the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP).
"In order to provide more gas supply to Europe via Türkiye, we will carry out joint studies on the expansion of connection capacities in Bulgaria and Greece, which are important European connection points," he added.
"Especially with the agreement we signed today, our relations reach a new dimension in the field of natural gas. There are many issues in this agreement. Within this agreement, we foresee that additional gas volumes of Azerbaijani resources, natural gas and natural gas from Caspian resources will reach Türkiye by 2030 and some natural gas will reach Europe via Türkiye," Bayraktar said.
"However, a new issue, an important issue, is that, as a result of this agreement, we have reached a deal on the transportation of natural gas from Turkmenistan to Türkiye via Azerbaijan and Georgia," he added.
Early in March, Ankara and Ashgabat signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and a letter of intent on natural gas cooperation, laying the groundwork for partnerships in the hydrocarbon sector and taking Türkiye closer to becoming a major energy hub.
Cabbarov, for his part, stressed that cooperation between Türkiye and Azerbaijan would contribute to Europe's energy security.
He emphasized the significance of the Iğdır-Nakhchivan Pipeline, pointing out that the supply of natural gas to the autonomous territory will enhance regional energy security and foster mutual cooperation.
