Although the sources and directions of gas flows are changing dramatically, natural gas itself remains indispensable for European energy security, agreed panellists at the 25th World LNG Summit in Istanbul.
The Strategic Conference, titled From West-Asia to East-Europe and beyond: Expansive regional LNG market plans, focused on opportunities to create new strategic ties from Central- and West-Asia to South-East Europe and North Africa, redrawing the energy map of the region.
It was highlighted that Türkiye plays a significant and growing role in the European LNG market, and existing and planned infrastructure is enabling diversification of gas supplies and greater contractual flexibility. The government plans to establish the country as a regional gas hub, drawing on domestic resources as well as imported LNG and pipeline gas. In this session, experts shared insights on the status of bilateral relations, new opportunities for trade, and the development of crucial infrastructure linkages.
Elchin Ibadov, Chief Executive of SOCAR Türkiye, highlighted the success of the Southern Gas Corridor and its flagship TAP pipeline. This is delivering 16 billion cubic meters per year (bcm/y) of Caspian gas to Europe with the potential to double to 31 bcm/y. “Türkiye is already functioning as an energy hub,” stated Elchin Ibadov.
He pointed out that Türkiye’s domestic gas consumption has fallen from about 60 to 55 billion cubic metres per year in recent years due to efficiency improvements. Meanwhile, storage capacity has increased, and LNG has become more flexible. The trends demonstrate how effective management can rapidly transform a transit country into a real price-setting hub.
Maria Rita Galli, CEO of DESFA, showcased Greece’s remarkable transformation from an “LNG island” into a 12 bcm/y import and 15 bcm/y transit gateway since 2018. This leap has been made possible thanks to the Revithoussa expansion, the Alexandroupolis FSRU, TAP and the IGB interconnector with Bulgaria. She stressed that the Vertical Gas Corridor, a coordinated south-to-north infrastructure initiative linking Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia, is already moving Greek or Turkish LNG northward.
Vladimir Malinov, Executive Director of Bulgartransgaz, called the Vertical Corridor “a highway for LNG” into Central and Eastern Europe. This is driven by the impending EU ban on Russian pipeline gas and the new US administration’s push for massive LNG exports. With coal-to-gas switching accelerating, he forecasts Bulgarian demand rising 20-30 per cent in the next five years as new CCGTs come online.
Hasan Özkoc of MEDREG underlined the regulatory hurdles, noting that diverging frameworks between the European Union, Balkan, Turkish and North African countries remain the biggest obstacle to seamless regional trade. He called for harmonised rules, liquid trading platforms and sustained infrastructure investment. Hasan Özkoc also warned that the Mediterranean will warm two to three times faster than the global average and therefore needs to move more rapidly on both security of supply and decarbonisation.
On the production side, Selami Uras from Transatlantic Petroleum outlined ongoing efforts to commercialise associated gas in southeast Türkiye. They are also re-evaluating certain Black Sea and Thrace assets using new seismic data and shale expertise from their American partners. These projects will add modest but strategically important domestic volumes to Türkiye’s emerging hub equation.