Turkey seeks lower Russian gas prices

Turkey has asked Russia to reduce the price of the natural gas it buys, the country’s energy minister said on June 19, during a visit to Moscow.

Energy Minister Taner Yıldız, who is attending the 21st World Petroleum Congress in Moscow, said Turkey purchases 42 million cubic meters of Russian gas daily via the West Stream pipeline, which currently supplies 12.5 percent of Turkey’s natural gas from Russia through Ukraine.

Under an agreement between the two nations, each can request to negotiate a price change that reflects the market price. Ankara has the right to open negotiations on Jan. 1, 2015.

If this supply were to be interrupted, 29 million cubic meters of natural gas Turkey buys from Iran and Azerbaijan would not be enough to meet the country’s energy needs, Yıldız said.

He added Turkey will continue to negotiate with Russia to increase the capacity of the Blue Stream pipeline by 3 billion cubic meters. He said Russia has pledged to complete the work by 2016.