BOTAŞ

Turkey's state pipeline operator Botaş will hike the price of natural gas used for electricity production by 50 percent as of Aug. 1, sources said.

Public Gas Corporation (DEPA) is seeking to renegotiate its contracts with international suppliers, as conditions in the domestic market that DEPA monopolized until recently have changed drastically and are expected to change further.

Russian state gas giant Gazprom said on May 26 it had signed a protocol with the Turkish government on a planned gas pipeline and agreed with Turkish firm Botaş to end an arbitration dispute over the terms of gas supplies.

Bulgarian and Turkish gas operators Bulgartransgaz and Botaş will hold meetings as soon as possible to speed up progress for the Turkey-Bulgaria Gas Interconnection Project "ITB," Nadezhda Neynsky, Bulgaria's ambassador to Turkey, told state-run Anadolu Agency on Sept. 25.               

Bulgarian and Turkish gas operators Bulgartransgaz and Botaş will hold meetings as soon as possible to speed up progress for the Turkey-Bulgaria Gas Interconnection Project "ITB," Nadezhda Neynsky, Bulgaria's ambassador to Turkey, told state-run Anadolu Agency on Sept. 25.               

State-run Qatargas, the world's largest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), said on Sept. 20 that it had signed a medium-term sales and purchase agreement with Turkey's Botaş to deliver 1.5 million tons of LNG each year for three years.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak met Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova in Sofia Wednesday.

Turkey's Şen Group has struck a deal with Gazprom to buy a 71 percent stake in the Bosphorus Gaz Corp, a natural gas distribution company, it said in a statement on June 1. 

Following approvals from energy and competition authorities, the group will assume ownership all of the gas distribution company, Turkey's first private natural gas importer. 

Turkey has transferred stakes in İzmir Port, which has been in privatization portfolio since 2007, to the Turkish Wealth Fund, in a bid to help finance giant infrastructure projects. 

The stake transfer was informed to respective authorities, according to sources. 

The wealth fund will have the authority to rent, transfer or sell the port. 

Turkey has transferred stakes worth billions of dollars in Ziraat Bank, the Borsa Istanbul stock exchange, Turkish Airlines and state-owned pipeline operator BOTAŞ, among others, to a new sovereign wealth fund, in a bid to help finance giant infrastructure projects.