Türkiye is in talks with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria on an electricity transmission link that would connect the four countries’ grids, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Oct. 12.
Bayraktar described the plan as "a major mega interconnection project" in an interview with Anadolu Agency on the sidelines of the 25th WPC Energy Congress in Riyadh. He did not give details on the cost, capacity or timeline of the project.
The minister said cooperation between countries was becoming more important as global energy markets faced what he called one of the biggest crises of modern times. Ankara also wants to expand energy ties with Libya, Iraq, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, he said.
‘We want our lines to be full’
Bayraktar said Türkiye aims to make fuller use of existing infrastructure, naming the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), TurkStream, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline.
He said the Iraq-Türkiye line, with a capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day, should be used to its full extent. Türkiye is also considering filling spare capacity on TANAP to bring more gas into the country and on to Europe, while its regasification and liquefied natural gas investments could allow more LNG to be shipped onward to European markets.
Despite the turmoil, Türkiye has had no problems with the security of oil and oil product supplies, the minister said. He pointed to developments affecting output in Venezuela, Russia and Iran as sources of pressure and price swings, and warned that a long contraction in energy markets could seriously harm the global economy.
Electrification on COP31 agenda
Bayraktar said Türkiye, which will host the COP31 climate conference, wants electrification at the centre of the summit’s agenda, citing rising power demand from data centres, cooling and desalination. He reiterated targets of carbon neutrality by 2053 and 20 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2050.
The Riyadh congress went ahead despite Houthi attacks on Saudi airports. Bayraktar said Türkiye was there to show it stands with its "Saudi brothers."
Sources
- Türkiye says in talks with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria on mega power link
- Türkiye in talks on four-country electricity link
Photo: Modern primat / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
