Azerbaijan Taking Steps To Boost Gas Supplies To Turkey - President

Azerbaijan will take additional steps to boost gas supplies to Turkey, President Ilham Aliyev said on Saturday during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Absheron gas field's offshore operations

BAKU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th September, 2020) Azerbaijan will take additional steps to boost gas supplies to Turkey, President Ilham Aliyev said on Saturday during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Absheron gas field's offshore operations.

"If one year ago, Azerbaijani gas was in fourth or fifth place in the Turkish market, now we are in first place. This is important for both ourselves and Turkey. Today, Turkey receives gas from a fraternal country, and additional steps will be undertaken to increase these supplies. Specifically, from the Absheron field. Gas produced during the second phase will be transported to Turkey, as well as other markets, through the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline," Aliyev was quoted as saying by the press department of the presidency.

According to the Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority, gas purchases from Azerbaijan rose 23.4 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2020. In total, Azerbaijan supplied up to 5.4 billion cubic meters (190 billion cubic feet) of gas, the most of any country.

In comparison, Russian gas exports to Turkey totaled 4.7 billion cubic meters in the same period, a drop of 41.5 percent year-on-year.

France's Total and the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR signed an agreement in 2016 to develop the production of the Absheron gas and condensate field, which is located in the Caspian Sea and has roughly 350 billion cubic meters of gas reserves and 100 million tonnes of gas condensate.