Türkiye plans to invest in U.S. gas production as it moves to diversify its energy sources, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Wednesday, also suggesting Ankara would like to increase the capacity of Turkmen gas it is taking and that it looks to add two more FSRUs in its portfolio.
"To hedge our position and create the whole value chain, we are considering investing in the upstream in the U.S. market," Bayraktar said.
Meanwhile, Ankara has also finalized a one-year extension of its two expiring gas import contracts with Russia that total 22 billion cubic meters (bcm), the minister said.
Türkiye, Russia's last major natural gas market in Europe, has been steadily cutting the share of Russian supplies in its gas mix, which has now dropped below 40%. The two contracts with Gazprom are due to expire at year's end.
Ankara has separately signed a series of deals to purchase long-duration liquefied natural gas (LNG), a big part of it from the U.S., taking advantage of expected global LNG abundance over the next few years.
"BOTAŞ finalized the contract" with Russia's Gazprom, Bayraktar said, referring to the state-owned energy company, BOTAŞ Petroleum Pipeline Corporation.
"They will continue to be supplied by Gazprom next year. But we are focusing on more like short term ... like one year," he told journalists on Wednesday.
Türkiye is also negotiating a 10 bcm gas import contract with Iran expiring in July next year, Bayraktar said, adding that part of the talks relates to increasing the volume of Turkmen gas Türkiye is importing through Iran.
"We'd like to increase the capacity of Turkmen gas coming through the swap deal," he said, recalling that Türkiye signed a one-year 1.3 bcm gas deal with Turkmenistan this year, sourcing it over Iran. Imports so far this year stand at around 0.5 bcm.
NATO member Türkiye has ambitions to become a gas trading hub and has been diversifying its traditional pipeline supply sources.
It plans to invest in U.S. gas production facilities to hedge its commitment to purchase up to 1,500 LNG cargoes from the U.S. over the next 15 years, Bayraktar said in a press conference with foreign media outlets.
State company TPAO was in talks with U.S. energy majors, including Chevron and Exxon, and a deal may come next month, he said.
The U.S. became Türkiye's fourth-largest gas supplier this year at 5.5 bcm, with a 14% share.
On Wednesday, BOTAŞ has also signed two agreements with German and Italian companies for LNG supply, with deliveries expected from 2028.
Moreover, Türkiye plans to add two more FSRUs, or floating storage and regasification units terminals, over the next few years to increase its LNG intake capacity and might later charter them to Morocco and other countries, the minister said.
The country currently has three FSRUs and two onshore LNG gasification terminals, able to source more than 50 bcm of gas in liquid form.
Türkiye is expecting its electricity consumption to grow significantly and plans to build two more nuclear plants to complement its base-load power generation capacity.
It is currently holding separate talks with South Korea's KEPCO as well as Canada's AtkinsRealis for the two plants.
U.S.-based Westinghouse has expressed interest in being involved in the second nuclear plant along with South Korea's KEPCO, Bayraktar said.
"Westinghouse can be part of it," Bayraktar said, adding that Türkiye is considering inviting some financial investors to the project over the next few months, including the UAE's Emirates Nuclear Energy Company.
