Data from the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) showed Turkey imported 30.3 Bcm of natural gas in the first half of 2021, an increase of 35% from a year earlier. LNG accounted for 20% or around 6 Bcm of Turkey’s total natural gas imports. That represents a fall of 41.3% from 10.3 Bcm in the same period in 2020, which accounted for 45.7% of the country’s overall gas imports.
The significant drop in Turkey’s LNG imports was attributed to rising global prices. This year LNG prices averaged $13-14 per MMBtu, compared to $4.5-5 per MMBtu last year. Growing energy consumption during extremely hot weather conditions in Europe has pushed up oil and carbon prices which also boosted LNG prices.
Algeria was Turkey’s largest LNG supplier in the first half with 3.1 Bcm. LNG imports from the US fell by 11.5% to 1.8 Bcm. The remaining 1.1 Bcm came from Nigeria. On the other hand, Qatar, which was one of Turkey’s biggest LNG suppliers, did not supply any LNG during the period.
