Türkiye’s ruling party sent to Parliament a draft law that seeks to establish a competitive natural gas market, in a move that comes as the country attempts to become a gas trading hub bringing together suppliers and consumers.

The move came a day after Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez said they were nearing the completion of the legislation for the hub planned to be set up and operational within the year.

In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a hub in Türkiye after explosions damaged Russia’s Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea in September.

The implementation of the project aiming at redirecting supplies and exporting them to the European market was delayed after devastating earthquakes jolted southeastern Türkiye last month, causing widespread destruction across the region.

Türkiye, which currently imports all its gas needs and has extensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) import infrastructure, believes it can leverage its existing and new trade relations to become a hub.

The bill submitted by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Wednesday says the proposed changes would increase safe and affordable access to energy for Turkish consumers through a diversification of supply and the entry of additional players in the market.

The regulations also aim to build a trustworthy market where domestic and foreign companies can trade natural gas and allow state energy company BOTAŞ and private entities to import natural gas, the bill’s text said.

The draft law also aims to split BOTAŞ’s natural gas supply and infrastructure operations to encourage competition and free trade in the market.

An international gas hub summit was scheduled in Istanbul last month but was postponed to March 22 due to the quakes.

The Feb. 6 tremors and strong aftershocks killed more than 46,000 people, destroyed or damaged over 230,000 buildings, and left hundreds of thousands homeless – making it the worst disaster in Türkiye’s modern history.

The summit seeks to assemble gas-supplying countries and Europe’s consumer countries.

Meanwhile, Türkiye is set to start pumping the natural gas it discovered in the Black Sea into the national grid by the end of April or the beginning of April, Dönmez said Wednesday.

It has gradually discovered about 710 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas since August 2020. The reserve in the Sakarya gas field is estimated to have a market value of $1 trillion (TL 18.9 trillion).

About 10 million cubic meters (mcm) of Black Sea gas per day is expected to be transferred in the initial phase, while the infrastructure has been set up to enable this figure to peak at 40 mcm through 2026.