The Government is in the process of diversifying its gas suppliers. Several transmission pipelines are being considered to bring natural gas from Iran and the Caspian area, as well as to increase imports from Russia. These imports are welcome, as they will further diversify Turkish energy supply and will contribute to the mitigation of urban pollution and CO2 emissions to the extent that natural gas replaces more carbon-intensive fuels. The Government is considering the possibility of liberalising natural gas imports and implementing third party access in transport and distribution. Eventually, the Government plans to set up an independent regulator to handle access to pipelines and pricing issues.
Turkey has a large potential as a transit country for the Caspian oil.
Emerging oil producing countries are well situated to export oil to Turkey, thus enhancing its security of oil supply. In addition, a number of projects have been put forward for the transit of oil to western markets. Turkey has been actively involved in these projects and, in particular, in proposing routes to ensure low cost and reliable transit. Post-refinery oil product prices are set by the public refiner Tupras and approved by the Government, and they do not always allow Tupras to cover its costs. As a consequence, investments by Tupras to improve the quality of oil products have been delayed.