It was revealed that the company that was issued a $10 billion investment certificate for natural gas storage facilities is Bendis Enerji. Interim Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci had announced the issuance of the certificate before and stressed that the investment aims to increase Turkey's energy supply security. The natural gas storage facilities will be constructed in Tarsus, a district of the southern province of Mersin.
The Turkish daily Sabah had previously claimed the company was Bendis Energy but has now been substantiated, as Birol Ensari, the owner of Bendis Enerji, announced that the storage facilities will have an active natural gas capacity of 4 billion cubic meters.
Bendis Enerji had obtained licenses from the Energy Market Regulation and Supervision Board for two facilities to be established in Tarsus that are valid until 2044. Currently, Turkey can store around 2.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas at the storage facility established by Turkish Petroleum in Silivri. Furthermore, state-owned energy company BOTAŞ is set to establish a natural gas storage facility with a 1 billion cubic meter capacity in Salt Lake region, which will mean that Turkey will be able to store one-tenth of the amount of natural gas it uses. With the construction of the facilities in Mersin, Turkey's natural gas storage capacity will amount to around 10 percent of its annual consumption.
