Turkey wants to free itself from foreign dependence on energy following the realization that the cost of energy was the main cause of the $65.1 billion deficit in 2013.
As of June, the current deficit is $52.176 billion, marking a $13 billion improvement.
Almost the entire current deficit is the result of energy product imports. Natural gas needs are met mostly by Russia, Iran, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. Turkey that can’t produce enough natural gas and oil on its own territory last week took a major step. To reduce dependence on external sources, a major natural gas resource abroad was made partly Turkish-owned when the Turkish Petroleum Corp. (TPAO) increased its share in Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz-2 gas field.
According to information given to Al-Monitor by sources in the Energy Market Regulatory Board, the initial idea was to have Turkey’s Pipeline Oil Transport Corp. (BOTAS) to buy 10% of the Azeri shares, thus bringing Turkey’s total share to 19% along with the 9% already owned by TPAO. But the plan was modified when it became clear that BOTAS could not explore and produce at the same time and TPAO had ample funds available. It was decided that TPAO’s share will be increased instead. TPAO was successful in locating additional resources and last week bought 10% of shares from French company TOTAL for $1.45 billion.
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