Abstract:

Turkey has an excellent geographical position that can provide energy flow between the countries of the Middle East and the Hazard region, rich in oil and natural gas reserves, and the European countries where these energy sources are widely consumed. The fact that the three sides of Turkey are surrounded by the seas, this logistics superiority is transferred to its land and sea areas as well. International energy shipping lines, which provide energy flow between consumer and supplier countries, offer an economic and secure route in the sea, while oil and natural gas carriers offer an economic and secure route in the sea. In this context, Turkey became a transit country in the field of oil and natural gas, in 1976, allowing Iraqi oil to reach the international energy markets of Azerbaijan's natural gas in 2007. The position of Turkey in regional energy mobility has gained greater importance with the new international natural gas pipeline that has entered into operation since 2018. Thus, beyond being a transit country, becoming a regional natural gas center has become one of the most important goals of Turkey’s energy policy. In this context, an intense effort has been made to improve the national natural gas infrastructure, to increase energy supply by diversifying supplier countries and to ensure energy supply security and to make the natural gas market open to competition by liberating. In this study, the potential of Turkey to be a natural gas center will be assessed, taking into account the natural gas perspective, ongoing international pipeline projects, natural gas infrastructure and the natural gas market.

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