Ankara, Turkey. Turkey plans to construct a natural gas pipeline to Cyprus, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Wednesday. He said Turkey is working on a new pipeline project to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and that Botas is conducting engineering studies.
Mediterranean exploration and Black Sea production
Bayraktar said Turkey “has not given up on the Mediterranean,” noting that it previously conducted nine deep-sea drillings without a discovery comparable to Black Sea natural gas. He said Turkey’s focus is on increasing production in the Black Sea while maintaining efforts to explore in the Mediterranean.
Pipeline plans and connectivity
Bayraktar said the new project involves a natural gas pipeline to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. He added that if gas is found, Turkey could later supply it to Turkey via a pipeline, describing connectivity as the most important issue.
Akkuyu nuclear power station
Bayraktar also addressed the under-construction Akkuyu nuclear power station on the southern coast of Turkey’s Mersin province, 65 kilometres from Kyrenia. He said Turkey has no problems with the Russians at Akkuyu but cited equipment delays and financing problems, which he said were overcome with support from the Russian state, especially President Vladimir Putin.
He said financing has been secured for the first two reactors of a planned four. Construction at Akkuyu began in 2018, and Bayraktar said the first reactor is expected to enter service this year and the second next year. Each reactor is expected to provide 1,114 megawatts of electricity, around 2.5 per cent of Turkey’s electricity consumption each.
Previous discussion of a Cyprus-Turkey pipeline
The idea of a natural gas pipeline to connect Cyprus and Turkey first surfaced in 2019 after the European Commission declared the planned EastMed pipeline a project of common interest, contributing almost €35 million for technical, economic, and environmental studies between 2015 and 2018.
What do you think Turkey’s pipeline plans could mean for energy connectivity in the Eastern Mediterranean?
