Turkey’s LNG imports dropped by almost 42 percent in the January-June period, according to the data by the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK).
The country’s liquefied natural gas imports reached about 6 bcm in the first half of this year, compared to 10.3 bcm in the same period last year, the data shows.
Total imports, including piped gas, increased 35 percent year-on-year to 30.3 bcm.
LNG accounted for only 20 percent of Turkey’s total gas imports, compared to a 45.7 percent share in the same period last year when spot LNG prices fell considerably due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, this year spot LNG prices reached record highs, prompting Turkey’s Botas and other buyers to shy away from buying the expensive fuel under short-term deals.
To remind, Turkey has last year increased its LNG imports by almost 19 percent, boosted by spot volumes from Qatar and the US.
However, Turkey did not import any cargoes from Qatar in the first half of this year while US supplies dropped 11.5 percent to 1.8 bcm, according to Anadolu. Most of the LNG supplies came under long-term contracts from Algeria and Nigeria.
Turkey currently imports LNG via four terminals. The country has earlier this year launched a new FSRU, owned by Botas, at the Dortyol facility in the southern province of Hatay.