The implementation of the plan to create an international gas hub in Turkey will give the country an opportunity to export around 40 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas annually, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez said, adding that the hub may start its operations within a year.
"We did not abandon our plans and it may begin its work within a year. Now we have our own gas. We consume around 55-60 bcm of gas annually, can have 100 bcm, and, if we plan it all properly, we will have 40 bcm of gas to export," the Turkish minister said.
He said that Turkey should not be treated as a gas transit country. "It will be a country housing a hub of international gas trade, and it is planned to be built within a year," Donmez said.
The hub’s operations will be regulated by local laws, and necessary legislative amendments will most likely be introduced after the presidential and parliamentary elections, scheduled for May 14. The amendments have already been approved by a parliamentary commission.
