Türkiye is not facing any problems regarding energy supply security due to the Iran war, but the situation is "volatile," Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar was quoted as saying by Turkish media on Tuesday.
"We hope the war will not last any longer. But the process is currently under our control," Bayraktar told reporters on Monday evening after a Cabinet meeting. "There is no problem or difficulty in energy supply security."
Türkiye is a big energy importer which neighbors Iran and is among the most exposed emerging market economies to the global energy price jump.
Bayraktar said in late March that Türkiye's dependence on Middle East oil was at a "manageable" 10% of total supplies and that the country had taken protective diversification steps.
Iranian forces effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil supply is normally shipped, after U.S. and Israeli attacks began on Feb. 28, sending energy prices soaring.
At the time he said every $1 increase in oil prices adds about $400 million to Türkiye's energy bill, while there had not been any natural gas supply cuts so far from Iran, Türkiye's fourth-largest supplier last year.
International Brent crude rose by 60% in March, a record monthly increase.
Oil prices hovered around $110 a barrel on Tuesday as a deadline imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump loomed for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or be "taken out."
Brent crude futures were down 95 cents, or 0.9%, at $108.82 a barrel by 0920 GMT.
On Monday, Bayraktar told reporters that he had spoken with the Hungarian foreign minister and discussed the issue of protecting the security of the TurkStream pipeline, which carries Russian natural gas to southern Europe through the Black Sea and Türkiye.
Explosives were reportedly found near the TurkStream pipeline in Serbia at the weekend, prompting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to convene an emergency defense council.
Russia and Turkey formally launched the TurkStream pipeline, which has a capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters per year, in January 2020.
"The security of the pipeline in the Black Sea and on our side is important," Bayraktar said.
