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Türkiye, which has made over 150 billion cubic meters (bcm) of liquefied natural gas agreements until 2045 to ensure supply security, is strengthening its infrastructure with new investments.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar stated on Tuesday that Türkiye increased its daily gasification capacity from 32 million cubic meters (mcm) to 161 mcm and said the country wants to increase this further.
"We want to increase the gasification capacity of 161 million cubic meters to 200 million cubic meters. Two more new FSRUs can enter our system," Bayraktar said.
Bayraktar attended the 15th Türkiye Energy Summit and made evaluations on topics ranging from oil and natural gas activities to renewable energy, from nuclear power plants to energy support.
Bayraktar stated that Türkiye had $96.5 billion in energy imports in 2022, of which $40 billion was oil and $38 billion was natural gas.
Bayraktar said they changed their strategy in oil and natural gas exploration since 2016 to reduce these imports.
As a result of this transformation, Bayraktar stated that Türkiye has the fourth-largest fleet in the world, with six deep-sea drilling vessels today, and announced that they will conduct a total of six exploration drillings in the west, middle, and east of the Black Sea in 2026.
Noting that an outlook revolution occurred in public companies, especially Turkish Petroleum, with the drilling and exploration activities and the resulting discoveries, Bayraktar stated that with this transformation, they enabled many young Turkish people abroad to return to their countries and reverse local migration.
Bayraktar explained that they organize events in production areas for young people to witness these activities. "When young people are asked about 'Gabar,' oil comes to mind, not terror," Bayraktar emphasized.
Bayraktar, who defines natural gas as a very critical fuel, explained that since 2016, they have taken steps to diversify natural gas in terms of both route and form.
Bayraktar reminded that Türkiye has a total underground storage capacity of 6.3 bcm in Silivri and Salt Lake, and stated that they increased the gasification capacity from 32 mcm to 161 mcm per day.
Pointing out that there are currently five gasification facilities in five points of Türkiye, three of which are floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) and two of which are LNG terminals, Bayraktar said the country plans to add two more new FSRUs to the system.
Bayraktar stated that they are working to increase efficiency in energy support. "We can probably lower the 4,000-kilowatt-hour (kWh) limit one step in 2026," Bayraktar said.
Bayraktar noted that they first increased to 5,000 kWh per year and then to 4,000 kWh per year.
Stating that they are considering a consumption-based regulation in natural gas in 2026, Bayraktar said, "When we do this, we will give the right support to the right place. Maybe with less budgets, that is, we will do these things with ₺200 billion, not ₺1 trillion."
Expressing that there is an electrification process with artificial intelligence, data centers, and electric cars in the world and in Türkiye, and that the electricity demand of heating and cooling systems has increased, Bayraktar said that nuclear energy is needed as a base load.
Bayraktar mentioned that Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is the largest foreign investment of the Republic of Türkiye and that they plan to obtain the first electricity from here in 2026.
Bayraktar said that they can proceed with triple and quadruple consortiums in Sinop and Thrace.
Setting out the goal of Türkiye to meet 15% of its electricity from nuclear in 2050, Bayraktar announced that they attach great importance to localization here.
Bayraktar stated that, as of the end of the second quarter of 2025, approximately $10.6 billion has been invested in the Akkuyu project, achieving 56% domestic content in its construction.
Bayraktar added that after 2026, they will announce a very comprehensive program regarding roof applications, facilities established by industrialists for self-consumption purposes, and capacity increase.
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