After Campaigning On Free Natural Gas, Erdogan Hikes Prices By 38%

Authored by Alex Kimani via OilPrice.com,

Turkey’s state energy company BOTA? has raised natural gas prices by 38% for households and 33.1% for small industrial customers, effective August 1st.

The price hike comes just over a year after President Erdogan promised free gas for households during his re-election campaign.

Turkey’s heavy reliance on gas imports, particularly from Russia, has contributed to the country’s energy vulnerability.

Turkey’s state energy operator BOTA? Petroleum Pipeline Corporation has announced that it will increase natural gas prices for residential use by 38%, starting 1st August. 

BOTA? will also increase gas prices to small to medium-sized industrial customers whose annual natural gas consumption is 300,000 cubic meters or less by 33.1%.

The company says it reached its decision “taking into account market conditions, market price stability, the Energy Market Regulatory Authority’s (EPDK) decisions regarding tariffs and changes in purchasing-operating expenses.”

Turkey largely relies on gas imports and is highly dependent on Russia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. The country also buys liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar, the U.S., Nigeria and Algeria.

According to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), Turkey imported natural gas worth $4.54 billion in June, good for 18.2% of total imports.

According to EPDK energy regulator data, domestic natural gas production mainly in the Thrace region accounted for less than 1% of Turkey’s 60 bcm national consumption in 2021.

The natural gas price hike comes just over a year after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan pledged to supply free gas to households during his re-election campaigns last year.

“We will provide free natural gas for household consumption up to 25 cubic meters monthly for one year,” Mr Erdogan said at the inauguration of the onshore natural gas port in the northern province of Zonguldak.

Turkey discovered Natural gas at the Sakarya field off the coast of Zonguldak in 2020, and at the adjacent Caycuma-1 field in 2023, with total volumes having since been estimated at 710 billion cubic meters (bcm).

Erdogan said Turkey’s Black Sea gas fields would initially produce 10 million cubic meters of gas per day before ramping up production to 40 million cubic meters per day.

“When we reach full capacity, we will be able to meet approximately 30 per cent of domestic consumption yearly from here,” Erdogan said.