Will Turkey be able to replace Russian gas with Qatari imports?
Although Qatar cannot replace Russian gas for Turkey, it is promising to see that Ankara is exploring new strategies for diversifying its long‐term energy supply.
A recent meeting between Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani gave rise to a new rhetoric in Turkey: Turkey will be able to meet any shortfall in Russian gas supplies with new imports of Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG). Any new LNG contracts signed with Qatar, the argument goes, now can be substituted for the gas Turkey currently buys from Russian sources — that is to say, about 50% of all of Turkey’s gas demands.
But this is not actually feasible. Not only are Turkey’s limited LNG storage and gasification capacity not sufficient for the amount of expensive Qatari gas the country would need, but also long-term energy contracts and a take or pay clause tie Russia and Turkey for at least 10 more years.
In the meeting between Turkish and Qatari delegations on Dec. 2, more than a dozen agreements cemented bridges between Qatar and Turkey in areas including defense, energy education and travel. Article 13 of the agreement refers to a memorandum of understanding between Turkey's state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS) and the Qatari national petrol company regarding the long-term supply of LNG, reported AA, Turkey’s state-owned press agency.
According to the Turkish parliament’s official press release regarding the natural gas agreement between BOTAS and Qatar Petroleum, Erdogan said, “As you know, Qatar Petroleum has had a bid to invest in LNG in Turkey for a long time. Due to the known developments in Turkey, they are studying what kind of steps they could take in LNG and LNG storage. We expressed that we viewed their study positively. As you know, both the private and public sector have LNG storage facilities. This one will be an investment between governments.”
