Amid the recent rumors about senior Turkish and Israeli officials having reached an initial settlement to restore diplomatic ties between the two countries, Turcas Petrol, one of the Turkish companies that develops projects to export reserves in the Leviathan offshore gas field to Turkey, released a statement in which the CEO, Batu Aksoy, underlined that bringing eastern Mediterranean gas to Turkey serves the country's strategy towards becoming an energy hub. Speaking to members of the Energy Journalists and Media Association (EGAD) in Ankara yesterday, he said that, "In terms of the eastern Mediterranean gas, the Turkish-Israeli friendship is based on long-lasting history. As we enter the year 2016, we are in a period where we must further enhance our connections with not only our neighbors but also world countries," said Aksoy while stressing that diversifying Turkey's energy resources to include Israeli gas will strengthen Turkey's hand to bargain better prices. "There have been significant discoveries in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. When looking at Turkey's energy strategies, it is evident that the country aims to become an energy market. We can only achieve this aim through resource variety. The more Turkey diversifies its resources, it will ensure strong bargaining in price and volume as a buyer." he added.

"It has been indicated that in the last 10 years the biggest discovery occurred in the eastern Mediterranean Sea with 1.1 trillion cubic meters of exploration," added Aksoy. He said that half of this discovery - 540 billion cubic meters - has been found in the Leviathan oil field and it has been indicated that the Tamar Site wants to use it for Israel. Aksoy said, "The decision is being made to use the Leviathan Site for foreign trade. If half of the 500 billion cubic meters comes to Turkey, a potential 250 billion cubic meters is expected to reach Turkey within the next 20 to 30 years. I believe that, until 2020, 8 billion cubic meter per year will flow into Turkey."

Underlining that the cost of pipelined gas is always cheaper than Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Aksoy said that, "Because of the three-part process to create LNG gas, it is always more expensive. Therefore, the pipeline project in the eastern Mediterranean is more feasible than building LNG terminals." Emphasizing that, as Turcas, they have been drawing attention to the importance of this gas resource to diversify Turkey's energy mix, Aksoy said that the recent political developments and the tension between Russia proved their righteousness in this issue.

Recalling their intention to be part of a consortium that will carry the Israeli gas to Turkey and will deal its sales in Turkish and European markets, Aksoy pushed the importance of building two different consortiums. "We believe that two different consortiums from the companies that have healthy financial conditions and relevant experience should be formed to take responsibility in the transfer and marketing stages of this gas." he added.