Turkey sets sights on LNG bunkering
Turkish oil and gas pipeline operator Botas said September 9 it was laying the groundwork to establish a regional LNG bunkering hub.
Botas said it had signed agreements with marine fuels company Arkas Bunkering and Japanese trading firm Sumitomo for the use of LNG as a fuel in ships.
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Turkey is geographically situated to serve as an energy hub between Middle East suppliers and customers in Europe. Botas said it could capitalise on that strategic position by establishing an LNG supply centre to service the eastern Mediterranean market.
“Currently, Turkey is one of the largest fuel supply centres for ships passing through the eastern Mediterranean,” Botas said.
The Turkish company pointed to regulations on maritime emissions from the International Maritime Organisation, dubbed IMO 2020, as justification for its pursuit.
“LNG, which is a more environmentally friendly alternative among conventional marine fuels, has the potential to be the most preferred ship fuel of the future due to its low cost,” it said.
Turkey has no infrastructure established yet to facilitate LNG bunkering. A floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in the southern province of Hatay received its first LNG in July, taking a 132,000-m3 cargo that originated in Algeria,
The FSRU is stationed at the Dortyol LNG import terminal and has a regasification capacity of 28mn m3/day.