Natural gas in Turkey
Turkey consumes about 60 billion cubic metres of natural gas each year, which supplies over a quarter of Turkey's primary energy. Blue Stream, a major trans-Black Sea gas pipeline, has been operational since 2005, and delivers natural gas from Russia to Turkey. The Tabriz–Ankara pipeline is a natural gas pipeline, which runs from Tabriz in northwestern Iran to Ankara in Turkey. The pipeline was commissioned in 2001. In Erzurum, the South Caucasus Pipeline, which was commissioned in 2006, is linked to the Iran-Turkey pipeline. In August 2020, Turkey discovered a large sweet  gas field in the Black Sea. Production. , almost all natural gas consumed by Turkey is imported, but production from the Sakarya gas field in the Black Sea is planned to start in 2023 and provide almost a third of national demand. Imports. In 2021 imports totalled 60 bcm: a third of the 46 bcm which came by pipeline was from Russia, but one long-term contract expired at the end of 2021 and the other ends in 2025. In 2021 imports included ~34% from Russia, 11% from Iran and Azerbaijan for 24% and also LNG from Nigeria and Algeria. BOTAŞ  imported 56 bcm in 2021 and would like to import from Northern Iraq but completing the Iraqi part of the pipeline is mired in disputes between the KRG and Iraq central government. Turkey suspects winter cuts in long-term (to 2026) contracted supply from Iran are not faults but Iran keeping the gas for its own use, especially when the market price is high. However some gas in Iran is wasted by flaring so Iran would benefit by selling that. In 2022 some LPG was also imported from Russia. In 2021 contracts with Gazprom were renewed and linked to Title  Transfer Facility, including a four year deal to the end of 2025 for 5.75 bcm a year through TurkStream (which has total capacity 31.5 bcm). Bosphorus Gaz, Akfel Gaz, Bati Hat and Kibar Holding have applied to import from Russia through the 6 bcm a year Trans-balkan pipeline in 2022, but the agreement for Botas to import gas through that pipeline ends at the end of that year. In 2021 a contract was agreed with Azerbaijan to import 11 bcm more per year until the end of 2024. Transmission and storage. There are many gas pipelines. The Southern Gas  Corridor includes the Shah Deniz 2 gas field, the South Caucasus pipeline, TANAP and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline: TANAP is being expanded to 31 bcm per year. However, gas imports cost $12 and $15 billion per year (and the lira is weak); they are a significant part of the import bill. A cheaper supply from Turkmenistan has been planned for decades, but a pipeline under the Caspian Sea has not yet been built partly due to lack of an agreement between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is imported from several countries including Egypt, Algeria and the  United States. In 2021 there was about 5 billion cubic metres (bcm) of storage (underground in Silivri and Aksaray) which is planned to reach 11 bcm by 2023. Consumption. About a quarter of gas is used by industry and a quarter by households. About half of residential energy demand is met by gas. Electricity generation in Turkey varies greatly depending on whether there is enough rain to produce hydroelectricity; therefore, when it rains, Turkey burns less gas. The International Energy Agency predicted in 2021 that use for electricity generation will decline. According to BOTAŞ the price of gas for Turkish  households was the lowest in Europe in April 2022, and they said residential customers were getting 70% price support from the government. Prices for industry and power plants are more than double the household price. Economics. Both national gas development and BOTAŞ are subsidised by the government. In 2021 households were subsidized 80 billion lira ($7 billion - about 4 times their electricity subsidy). Gas imports deplete foreign exchange reserves and some analysts say that imported oil and gas is a key weakness in the economy of Turkey. The country would like to become a hub to supply the EU , however EU gas consumption is expected to decrease, so analyst Kadri Tastan says this is unlikely in the long term due to the EU green transition. Some imports from Russia are linked to the oil price, which is said to be a good deal for Turkey. Geopolitics. Turkey opposes some gas exploration by the Republic of Cyprus because of the Cyprus–Turkey maritime zones dispute. In 2018, Turkey was involved in a diplomatic dispute with Cyprus and Greece in regards to oil and gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, after the Turkish foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu arbitrarily announced the country 's intention to begin exploration in what is recognized as the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Cyprus. The dispute escalated on 9 February, after the Turkish Navy prevented a drill ship operated by Italian oil company Eni S.p.A. from exploring gas reserves off the island, despite being licensed by the Cypriot Government. In November 2018, ExxonMobil began hydrocarbon exploration in the eastern Mediterranean sea after being escorted by the US Navy. In July 2019, the European Council adopted the following conclusions on the Turkish drilling activities in the eastern Mediterranean: History. The first imports from Russia were in  1986, and from Azerbaijan in 2007. And LNG from Algeria since 1994 and Nigeria since 1999.