Turkey's Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) dismissed claims that natural gas storage in the country is below the planned amount amid a supply crunch that caused the reduced usage of natural gas and electricity in manufacturing and industrial zones.
In a Twitter statement, BOTAŞ said that storage facilities are filled in the summer and used in the winter as needed.
The gas fill rates may vary according to winter conditions, the statement said, noting that currently natural gas stores are used at the maximum level within the framework of their plans.
Regarding allegations on social media that "Turkey has ran out of gas in storage when gas prices rose in the summer months," BOTAŞ said Turkey's summer natural gas demand is provided via pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply sources connected to the country’s long-term natural gas purchase and sale agreements.
"During the summer period, natural gas was stored at the storage facilities, and this year, as with every year, the maximum amount of natural gas has been stored in our storage facilities within the scope of our plans. The gas is used from natural gas tanks on the days it is needed," it said.
It was also stated that there were no debts to any country, including Iran, denying claims that there were interruptions in natural gas supplies due to outstanding debts.
A major supplier to Turkey, Iran last Thursday cut gas flows due to a halt that they said will last for up to 10 days because of technical failures, prompting Turkish authorities to order gas-fueled power plants to cut gas use by 40%.
Accordingly, Turkey’s main electricity distribution company Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation (TEIAŞ) said it would impose three days of power outages through Wednesday in the country’s organized industrial zones due to the gas shortages. TEIAŞ said it verbally informed zone managers over the weekend.
The country’s natural gas distributors were asked to reduce supply to 60% for large consumers, except for gas used for heating.
Iran said its gas exports to Turkey had resumed on Friday but a Turkish official told Reuters those supplies were a lot lower than the required volumes.
Turkey has denied that the problem was due to a fault at a pressure station on its side and sent a delegation to Tehran.