Enactment of the Natural Gas Market Law No. 4646 in 2001 is a crucial milestone towards liberalization of the natural gas sector in Turkey.
This law obliges Boru Hatları ile Petrol Taşıma A.Ş. (BOTAŞ), the monopolist gas importer and wholesaler of the market with app. %100 market share, to transfer its Import Contracts signed with foreign gas supplier companies to private sector entities through tenders. According to the liberalization program, BOTAŞ has to transfer every year certain portion of the imported natural gas in lots of 250 million m3 to private sector until its market share reduces down to %20. The first tender on this subject was made on November 30, 2005 regarding importation of 4 Billion m3 (16 lots) of natural gas.
As of 2006-end, app. 28 Billion m3 natural gas is imported into Turkey annually. The imported gas is sold to industrial companies, power plants, natural gas distribution companies and consequently to residences. Certain amounts of natural gas is produced in Turkey as well, however, these do not exceed %5 of the national consumption. Consumption of natural gas has been ever increasing in parallel with both the economic/industrial development and the nation-wide expansion of the natural gas infrastructure. Natural gas infrastructure today is deployed almost in all cities of Turkey while it was available only in 5 cities until 2003.
Turcas plans to enter the natural gas import and wholesale market as part of its strategic plan. Turcas has been collaborating with countries like Russia, Iran, Algeria and Azerbaijan from where Turkey imports natural gas. One of the substantial examples on this issue is the partnership entered into with the state-owned oil and gas company of Azerbaijan, SOCAR.
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