Türkiye set to play key role as Europe's energy supplier

Türkiye is paving the way to becoming a gas hub, having signed four recent natural gas export agreements with European countries, alleviating the bloc's natural gas supply shortages derived from the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.

The country, which already exports gas via pipelines to Greece, has signed natural gas export agreements this year with Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Moldova.

The first natural gas export deal of the year was signed in January with Bulgaria to cover the export of 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually for 13 years.

After concluding negotiations with Bulgaria, Türkiye entered into an agreement with Hungary in August to export gas via pipeline.

According to the Hungarian media, Türkiye anticipates exporting 275 million cubic meters of gas to the nation. With this arrangement, Hungary became the first country that Türkiye exports gas through a pipeline to that was not a neighbor.

Signing its third gas export agreement of the year with Romania, Türkiye announced it would supply up to 4 million cubic meters of natural gas per day to the country. The shipment was scheduled to begin on Oct. 1 and run until March 31, 2025.

Türkiye signed the fourth natural gas export agreement of the year with Moldova to export 2 million cubic meters of natural gas per day starting on Oct. 1.

According to Erste Investment Oil and Gas Analyst Tamas Pletser in an e-mailed note, Türkiye can become an important hub for Europe's gas supply as it can gain access to long-term LNG sources from various markets, including Azerbaijan, Northern Iraq, Iran, Israel, and even Cyprus.

Pletser said that despite obstacles in the gas supply to Hungary in Bulgaria, the idea of Türkiye as a gas hub has grown more important because of the lack of a direct pipeline supply from Russia to Europe as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

"I think it is highly favorable for Türkiye," Pletser added.