Minister Bayraktar evaluated the developments in energy markets, Türkiye's energy policies and cooperation with Russia in the field of energy at the main session of the "Russia Energy Week" held in Moscow, the capital of Russia.
Stating that energy markets have faced many crises and shocks in recent years, Bayraktar said, "Broader cooperation is extremely important to overcome all these challenges we face in our energy markets. Turkey and Russia provide very good examples of how this cooperation can benefit both countries." he said.
Pointing out that Türkiye provides demand security for Russia with its growing energy market, Bayraktar said, "Turkey offers Russia a growing market. At the same time, Russia plays an important role in Türkiye's energy supply security." he said.
Pointing out that we have entered a new era in which constant crises and shocks are experienced in global energy markets, Bayraktar said that these developments have become the new normal for the energy sector and the global economy, and that it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide reliable and affordable energy to countries.
Bayraktar stated that Türkiye consumes an average of 60 billion cubic meters of natural gas, 50 million tons of oil and petroleum products and 40 million tons of coal annually, and noted that most of these resources are met through imports.
Emphasizing that they developed their energy policies to meet the increasing demand and reduce import dependency, Bayraktar stated that they focused on diversification of energy resources and infrastructure investments in this direction.
Türkiye'S ENERGY SUPPLY SECURITY
Explaining that Türkiye has made significant investments in its energy infrastructure, Bayraktar said that they have implemented successful projects with Russia, especially the TurkStream natural gas pipeline.
Bayraktar pointed out the importance of TurkStream for Türkiye's energy supply security and said, "Can you imagine that there is no TurkStream today? We used to get natural gas through transit countries, but today we can supply gas directly from Russia via the Black Sea." he said.
Referring to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Iraq-Türkiye oil pipelines, Bayraktar emphasized that the capacity of the existing energy infrastructure should be utilized more.
Stating that more natural gas and oil from Kazakhstan and Central Asia can be delivered to Türkiye and global markets through these lines, Bayraktar reminded that the Iraq-Turkey Oil Pipeline has a daily carrying capacity of 1.5 million barrels.
Bayraktar said that this infrastructure is not only limited to meeting Türkiye's energy needs, but can also contribute to the energy supply security of the Mediterranean basin.
Referring to the developments in the Strait of Hormuz, Bayraktar said, "Today, the Strait of Hormuz cannot fully function and no one knows how long this situation will last. For this reason, we say that we can deliver additional oil volumes to our neighboring countries, Türkiye and global markets through Turkey." made his assessment.
Pointing out that this cooperation is especially important for the energy supply security of European markets, Bayraktar noted that Türkiye can play a greater role in solving regional problems with its energy infrastructure.
Türkiye'S 2050 TARGET IS AT LEAST 20 GIGWATTS NUCLEAR ENERGY CAPACITY
Stating that 19 percent of the increase in energy demand in Türkiye last year was due to the need for cooling, Bayraktar stated that applications such as desalination of sea water may also create additional electricity demand in the future.
Emphasizing that production capacity and energy infrastructure should be strengthened in order to meet the increasing electricity need, Bayraktar stated that they aim to benefit from the potential of renewable energy resources and use energy efficiently.
Stating that nuclear energy will be one of the indispensable elements of Türkiye's future energy mix, Bayraktar said, "For this reason, we aim to reach at least 20 gigawatts of nuclear electricity production capacity by 2050." he said.
Bayraktar stated that the construction of 4 reactors at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is continuing with the Russian State Nuclear Energy Corporation Rosatom and said, "I hope we will be able to start producing electricity from our first unit in the next few months." he said.
Explaining that they are developing nuclear power plant projects in Sinop and Thrace, Bayraktar said that Türkiye needs at least 12 large-scale conventional nuclear reactors.
Bayraktar stated that small modular reactors are also included in Türkiye's nuclear energy plans, and that they believe that the future of these technologies is quite bright.
Emphasizing that the problems experienced in energy markets further increase the importance of international cooperation, Bayraktar stated that Türkiye will continue its policies to both meet its own energy needs and contribute to energy supply security for neighboring countries and especially Europe.
