Turkey's LNG Imports Hit Historic High
Turkey cut its pipeline gas imports by just over a sixth -- 16.5% -- year-on-year to 3.47bn m3 in January 2019, but its LNG intake rose 19.4% to 2.34bn m3, hitting a historic record, the energy market regulator EPDK said April 1.
For the first time, LNG accounted for more than 40% of Turkey's gas imports.
Turkey LNG imports (mn m3/month):
Source: Emra
Pipe gas imports from Russia declined significantly, while Azeri gas deliveries soared, thanks to the launch of the Trans Anatolian pipeline phase 0 in mid-2018, from Georgia to Eskisehir. The next section, to Greece, has been almost completed and gas injection tests is expected to start April 15.
The other important issue is soaring US LNG intake, which exceeded 460mn m3 in January 2019, far above the November 2017 record, which was 196mn m3.
Turkey gas import in January (mn m3/month):
|
|
Sources |
2018 |
2019 |
Y/Y % |
|
Pipe gas |
Iran |
836.29 |
824.18 |
-1.45% |
|
Russia |
2,825.99 |
1,837.18 |
-34.99% |
|
|
Azerbaijan |
594.15 |
808.36 |
36.05% |
|
|
LNG |
Algeria |
472.27 |
698.20 |
47.84% |
|
France |
175.94 |
0 |
-100% |
|
|
US |
0 |
460.18 |
100% |
|
|
Qatar |
649.19 |
346.5 |
-46.63% |
|
|
Egypt |
0 |
186.37 |
100% |
|
|
Nigeria |
317.09 |
478.18 |
50.8% |
|
|
Norway |
88.26 |
87.61 |
-0.74% |
|
|
Angola |
97.11 |
0 |
-100% |
|
|
Trinidad and Tobago |
160.21 |
83.5 |
-47.88% |
|
|
Total |
6,216.51 |
5,810.25 |
-6.54% |
Source: Emra
Turkey also increased gas production by 32.34% to 43.67mn m3 in January, while exports to Greece doubled to above 101mn m3. Its domestic demand declined 1.55% to about 6.1bn m3, while natural gas inventory in underground facilities and LNG in late-January stood at 2.361bn m3 (7% down year-on-year) and 365.7mn m3 (80.5% increase year-on-year) respectively.