Turkey's strategic importance in transmitting Russian, Middle Eastern and Central Asian oil and natural gas to Europe is continuously growing, according to a report published by the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA). Pointing to the significance of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, the report indicated that 2.9 million barrels of crude oil were carried through these two straits on a daily basis in 2013. Despite being resource-poor, Turkey has the advantage of being in the middle of energy exporters and importers. According to the report, Turkey is the sixth largest transition region in the world in terms of carrying the greatest amount of crude oil by sea. A total of 5.1 percent of crude oil that was carried by sea in 2013 passed through Turkish straits.
Crude oil from Kirkuk and Irbil in northern Iraq carried through pipelines and on trucks is offered to world markets from the Ceyhan port in southern Turkey. In May, a daily average of 550,000 barrels of crude oil were carried from the port to global markets. Azerbaijani crude oil is transported through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, which has a daily capacity of 1.2 million barrels, to the Ceyhan port, which according to the report, is of a critical importance in offering Middle Eastern, Caucasian and Central Asian oil to international markets.
Turkey is of continuously rising strategic importance in the transmission of natural gas as well, the report suggested, adding that Turkey is gearing up to become a major gas hub. Turkey imports an annual average of 10 billion cubic meters of gas from Iran through the Tabriz-Ankara Pipeline and imports an annual average of 6.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Azerbaijan through the South Caucasus Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum Pipeline). Russia, which is the largest natural gas supplier for Turkey, transmits 14 billion and 16 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey through West Line and Blue Stream, respectively, on an annual basis. With the finalization of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) in 2018, Azerbaijan will offer 16 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey, and will also be exported to Europe through Turkey. It is expected that the capacity of the TANAP will rise to 23 billion cubic meters and 31 billion cubic meters in 2023 and 2026, respectively. With the Turkish Stream Project, which will carry Russian natural gas to Europe over the Turkish-Greek border, an annual average of 63 billion cubic meters of Russian gas will be offered to the Turkish domestic market and European markets.
