Turkey signs 20-year deal with Mercuria to buy US gas

Model of LNG tanker is seen successful this illustration taken May 19, 2022. [Dado Ruvic/Reuters]

Turkey has signed a 20-year woody with trading institution Mercuria to bargain US liquefied earthy gas, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has said, arsenic US President Donald Trump pushes for Europe to halt Russian vigor purchases.

The woody comes up of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s gathering with Trump connected Thursday.

Russia is Turkey’s largest supplier of state imports, though Ankara has diversified successful caller years. The caller woody is 1 of respective it has secured this period up of this year’s expiry of astatine slightest 16 cardinal cubic meters worth of state import deals with Russia.

The European Union plans to prohibition Russian LNG imports into the bloc by the extremity of 2026 under its latest bundle of sanctions against Moscow, arsenic Trump presses it to play a much robust relation successful helping extremity Russia’s war successful Ukraine.

Turkey has not yet agreed caller supply deals with Russia.

State vigor institution BOTAS signed the latest woody successful New York during Erdogan’s visit, agreeing the yearly supply of 4 bcm of LNG to Turkey from 2026, with a total supply of some 70 bcm envisaged.

Supplies will beryllium sourced from loading terminals successful the US and regasification facilities successful Turkey, Europe, and North Africa.

“This statement will importantly lend to the $100 cardinal trade volume target with the US,” Bayraktar said, adding that the woody aimed to heighten supply information and diversify Turkey’s vigor sources.

BOTAS besides signed a semipermanent preliminary LNG woody with Woodside Energy, Australia’s top state producer, a Turkish Energy Ministry statement said.

That statement provides for the supply of some 5.8 bcm of LNG to BOTAS for 9 years, starting successful 2030, mostly from Woodside’s Louisiana LNG project.

Russia supplied 40% of Turkey’s 52 bcm of state imports past year. The US was Turkey’s 5th largest supplier, slightly down Algeria, providing 10% of state imports.

The vigor deals travel arsenic Turkey moves to amended ties with Washington. On Monday, Ankara said it had lifted retaliatory tariffs imposed successful 2018 connected a scope of US imports, including rider cars and fruit. The determination was seen arsenic a motion of goodwill up of Erdogan’s gathering with Trump.

BOTAS is liable for Turkey’s lipid and state infrastructure and state trade. Mercuria is 1 of the world’s largest vigor and commodity groups. [Reuters]