Private gas companies to up shares

The amount of natural gas Turkish private energy importer companies will be allowed to buy from Russia is set to rise by 4 billion cubic meters to 10 billion cubic meters, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said yesterday. Speaking at a meeting organized by the Strategic Technical Economic Researches Center (STEAM), Yildiz said the ministry was also considering allowing some 4 billion cm to be sold to the Turkish private companies directly by private natural gas importers, an issue that will be brought to the table at the beginning of 2013. A draft code on electricity and oil will be submitted to Parliament after Oct. 1, he said. "We want to carry forward pipeline projects with Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran and other countries that we will establish new energy ties with," he said. Turkey sees its energy policies as a cause for peace, rather than a reason for tension and dissociation, he also said. "We may not be completely in agreement with Russia on Syria, but we leave that aside [for energy relations]. We are also continuing energy deals with Iran and there may be some new agreements in the future [with Iran]," he said. Speaking at the same meeting, the head of the energy regulator EPDK, Hasan Koktas, said 13 private companies had applied to import natural gas from Russia. Nearly 20 percent of the total 51 billion cm natural gas import is estimated to be conducted by the private sector in 2013, he said.