Re-examining Turkey's Potential of Becoming a Natural Gas Transit Hub

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the potential for Turkey to play a role as a natural gas hub in view of its location adjacent to the most important gas producer and energy consuming countries. In spite of the importance of the location of Turkey for the energy security of the EU, the current gas stream to Turkey and infrastructure are inadequate due to technical, political and economic factors affecting the Southeastern European energy corridor. During the last 15 years, Turkey has achieved considerable reforms in energy markets and complied with all directives of the European Union. However, Turkey still needs to adopt a more transparent framework regarding liberalization of its internal energy market. Our study shows that Turkey should not only improve her market structure, but also continue to develop new projects that will improve her position in the competitive world energy environment. Turkey is in a key location in this international game: in addition to the current BTE pipeline, TANAP is the most promising pipeline passing through Turkey in the east-west energy corridor. A SWOT analysis reveals many factors that favor Turkey as the major European natural gas transit hub. However, many obstacles that may hinder the achievement of its full potential remain.