Türkiye’s energy strategy was under the spotlight at the Istanbul Natural Resources Summit (INRES), organized by Daily Sabah’s parent company, Turkuvaz Media Group.
Addressing a panel at the event, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar highlighted the pressure of global crises on energy and how Türkiye found solutions for resilience.
The panel entitled “Energy Security in a Shifting Global Landscape: Connectivity & Cooperation,” moderated by Daily Sabah business editor Amina Ali, hosted Bayraktar, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov, Bulgaria’s Minister of Energy Iva Petrova, Georgia’s Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Mariam Kvrivishvili, Libya’s Minister of Oil and Gas Khalifa Rajab Abdulsadiq, Moldova’s Minister of Energy Dorin Junghietu, Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development Oladele Henry Alake, Sudan’s Minister of Energy and Petroleum Moatasem Ibrahim Ahmed and Somalia’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Dahir Shire Mohamed.
Bayraktar’s remarks focused on global energy challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain crises and regional conflicts, noting that they endangered energy supply security across the world.
“Energy security has never been this difficult to maintain,” he underlined. He added that global turmoil in the past few years forced a tectonic transformation for the energy sector. “Combating global warming and climate change are now in focus for the sector. Türkiye has a comprehensive energy strategy to that extent,” he said.
Bayraktar said that for Türkiye, one of the instruments for overcoming the challenges was the utilization of renewable energy resources, especially local renewables.
He noted that Türkiye had a consistently increasing energy demand and said they had projected that future technologies like artificial intelligence and e-mobility would further increase the demand. He mentioned President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s remarks in Baku, where he announced Türkiye’s 2035 goals on the matter. “Our target is reaching a solar and wind power production capacity of 120 GWs,” he stated.
He also noted that Türkiye concentrated on combating climate change as well, pointing to the country's preparations to host the upcoming COP31 summit.
The minister stated that fossil fuels would linger longer in the global market and that Türkiye has shifted gears both domestically and internationally in this field.
“We are aware that oil and gas will dominate our energy future for a while. We discovered enormous reserves in the Sakarya gas field and are working on it. At the same time, we are exploring alternative sources. Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) is conducting a technically challenging, sophisticated operation in Somalia. We aim to expand these operations to other regions as well, from Libya to Pakistan. We have a pragmatic approach to oil and gas,” he said.
On nuclear energy, Bayraktar said that they were determined to continue investments in this field, noting that after Akkuyu, nuclear energy projects were underway in Sinop and the Trakya region.
“We believe that it will not be possible to ensure energy security and achieve climate goals without nuclear power. Thus, we aim to reach at least 20 gigawatts of nuclear production. By 2050, we will have more nuclear power plants and small reactors. Türkiye will go through a nuclear renaissance and will become a new player in this technology. We aim to have at least a 5-gigawatt small modular reactor,” he said.
Bayraktar also highlighted that Türkiye was focused on a historic discovery and new facilities to save Türkiye from dependence on mining technologies and critical minerals. “We believe that value-added mining is vital. We have a pilot facility in Eskişehir’s Beylikova, where Türkiye’s largest reserves were discovered. In the second stage, we will set up an industrial facility. We are also working on enrichment technology,” he said.
For his part, Azerbaijan’s Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov touched upon the connectivity and future projects in the South Caucasus and wider region. He stated that energy security has evolved into a matter of national security. Shahbazov cited energy crises in the Middle East and Europe as factors highlighting the importance of supply security, connectivity and partnerships.
As an example of energy integration in the new era, he pointed out future electricity interconnectors between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye and Bulgaria and other electricity links. Another prospective connectivity project he noted was the transportation of Azerbaijan’s Caspian energy sources to Türkiye and Europe via Armenia through the Zangezur Corridor.
“The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Southern Gas Corridor natural gas pipeline are currently considered among the most reliable and predictable projects. They not only connect our countries and neighbors, but also transform Azerbaijan, Türkiye and other partners into one of the key pillars of Eurasian energy infrastructure,” the minister said.
Speaking at the panel, Georgia’s Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Mariam Kvrivishvili stated that regional and global tensions have made the importance of countries' energy strategies more visible.
Stating that Georgia's priority is to reduce foreign dependency in electricity generation, Kvrivishvili explained that they aim to increase the installed capacity to 11,500 megawatts in the next 10 years, and that more than $1 billion will be invested in the next two years for the renewal, modernization and expansion of the energy infrastructure. Pointing out the importance of oil, natural gas and electricity infrastructure in the region, Kvrivishvili said, "Current tensions have revealed more clearly how critical a role Georgia, Türkiye and Azerbaijan play in terms of global energy security. Today, energy security is no longer just a matter of infrastructure and investment, but has also become directly linked to international cooperation, regional solidarity, and peace."
Libya's Abdulsadiq said that global energy companies have shown intense interest in the oil and natural gas tenders organized by Libya for the first time in many years, and that the country is preparing to increase its energy production and play a larger role in Europe's security of supply. Stating that the onshore and offshore energy license tenders announced last year were successfully completed, Abdulsadiq noted that Türkiye also participated in the process through the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), and that they plan a new round of tenders for onshore and offshore energy projects next year.
Regarding the natural gas sector, Abdulsadiq stated that they aim for an additional gas production of approximately 100 million cubic meters with new projects to be commissioned this summer, adding that a portion of the produced gas will be used in the domestic market while the remaining part will be exported to Europe.
Sudan's Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Ahmed, pointed out that Sudan is in a period of recovery and reconstruction, reporting that work is continuing in the areas of infrastructure and field development. Highlighting that Sudan has reached an oil production capacity of 400,000-500,000 barrels, Ahmed stated that they need to encourage international investment to expand their energy portfolios, rehabilitate refineries and increase the capacities of production fields.
Somalia's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Mohamed, noted that the operations of the Çağrı Bey ultra-deepwater drilling vessel, which conducted Türkiye's first deepwater exploration drilling abroad in Somalia, are ongoing, and they expect positive developments by the end of the year. Expressing that Somalia is focused on resource development in the field of energy, Mohamed said: "We will develop resources so that we can build infrastructure. We also need to think about cross-border infrastructure. I believe that by the end of this year, we need to set certain priorities and increase our energy efficiency."
Moldovan Minister of Energy Junghietu stated that they are focusing on renewable energy, storage and flexible generation methods to ensure energy security. Reporting that they will commission large-scale storage systems in April to reduce electricity imports, Junghietu expressed that they are working on new interconnector projects with Romania and Ukraine. Junghietu mentioned that energy consumption has been reduced through insulation and solar panel projects carried out in public buildings, and that the use of renewable energy in hospitals is being encouraged. Stating that they prevented a potential electricity crisis thanks to regional cooperation following the attack on the Romanian connection line in March, Junghietu said, "We were able to maintain energy access for 2.4 million people without any power outages. The only way to overcome these crises is to act together."
Nigerian Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Alake, emphasized that global energy crises and geopolitical developments have increased the importance of energy security, and that resource diversity plays a critical role in the energy transition. Underlining that countries must act together in the energy sector, Alake said, "Energy diversification and the development of supply chains have now become a necessity." Alake explained that Nigeria has taken significant steps to ensure security in the mining sector, aiming to attract investment to the industry through these measures.
