Türkiye plays a "very important role" in helping diversify energy supplies, the US State Department has said following reports of a multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) deal between Türkiye and American energy giant ExxonMobil.
Addressing a press briefing on Tuesday, State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said the US would encourage any country to diversify its energy supply and curb dependence on Russian energy.
"Türkiye has played a very important role as the host of the Southern Gas Corridor in helping diversify European energy supplies and European gas supplies away from dependence on Russia," he added.
The country has also been "the host of multiple LNG liquefication facilities which have received a lot of American LNG since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine," Patel said.
In an interview with the British daily Financial Times published on Sunday, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced that Ankara is in talks with ExxonMobil to buy LNG.
Bayraktar expressed that negotiations were ongoing for securing 2.5 million tonnes of LNG a year at a cost of around $1.1 billion, and that the deal could last 10 years if the talks with Exxon are completed.
New supply portfolio
Noting that Türkiye imports almost all of its natural gas needs, Bayraktar stressed that the country has been working on a new supply portfolio to eliminate reliance on any single supplier.
“For security of supply, we need to get gas from somewhere. It could be from Russia, it could be from Azerbaijan, it could be Iran, or LNG options,” Bayraktar said, expressing that Türkiye is evaluating options from different sources to ensure supply security.
Ankara will turn to the most suitable options, he added.
Türkiye has seven international natural gas pipelines, five LNG facilities including three floating storage and regasification units (FSRU), and two underground natural gas storage facilities.
The country aims to become a key gas hub in the region, excel as an exporter and effectively manage the gas it provides.
According to the Financial Times, Exxon aims to expand its LNG portfolio to 40 million tons a year by 2030.
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