Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Selçuk Öztürk expressed his thanks to Ziya Altunyaldız for his participation. Ziya Altunyaldız emphasized the importance of energy shaping global and national policies in terms of the country's development and growth index, stressing that natural gas, which is shown as a source of clean energy within fossil fuels, is critical today when renewable energy sources and decarbonization come to the fore. Referring to the exploration activities carried out in our country, Altunyaldız stated that the Council has developed sustainable, effective and inclusive policies with its structure that brings together the stakeholders of the sector.

Ä°brahim Akbal stated that the sector continues to work on liberalization and increasing market share, and they wish that market practices support this effort. Akbal stated that a significant reserve volume of 540 bcm has been achieved with the discovery of 135 bcm of new natural gas, adding that the sector expects the creation of a liberal and competitive natural gas market and the completion of the timetable in this direction by the end of the year, as stated in the economic reform package.

YaÅŸar Arslan, Vice President of the Turkey Natural Gas Council, stated that in the first quarter of 2021, natural gas imports increased by 18% compared to the previous year and amounted to 18 billion m3. Arslan said LNG imports decreased by 29% due to the changes in the price of LNG and pipe gas, while pipe gas imports increased by 55%. YaÅŸar Arslan stated that in the first three months of 2021, natural gas consumption increased by 4% in housing, 15% in industry and 55% in electricity production, and informed that there was intensive work on the transport of natural gas to an area over 300 districts within 5 years.

BOTAŞ Natural Gas Business and Market Operations Regional Manager Murat Önde stated that 2021 was a record-breaking year in natural gas consumption, the amount of natural gas entering the system in the first five months of the year increased by about 21% compared to 2020, peak consumption and average consumption in 2021 were over the last three years, and 280 million m3 days of natural gas consumption on January 19, 2021 was an all-time record. Stating that work is underway to increase the capacity of the pipeline, Önde stated that the Demirciler-Adapazarı-Düzce natural gas pipeline has been completed and commissioned, the Afyon-Seçköy line is in the temporary acceptance stage, the Bingöl-Bismil line is in the process of being completed and informed about other ongoing line works. Önde made assessments about BOTAŞ’s inspection processes of pipelines with intelligent pigging, maintenance works of compressor stations, marine pipeline activities and the project that will eliminate the need for gas chromatography.

EPİAŞ General Manager Ahmet Türkoğlu, gave a comprehensive presentation on the Futures Gas Market and the trade center of our country; firstly evaluating the natural gas needs of our country, the discovery of natural gas in our country, the use of natural gas and the possible effects of climate conditions on the energy sector, the reaction and position of natural gas prices compared to world and EU prices. Providing information about the EPİAŞ Organized Wholesale Natural Gas Sales Market conducted by EPİAŞ and the Gas Futures Market, which will be opened on October 1, 2021, Türkoğlu stated that all these developments are important steps for our country to become a natural gas regional center and demanded the sector's support for market formation. Ahmet Türkoğlu also stated that the Gas Futures Market, which will be launched virtually on June 30, 2021, is important for increasing predictability, risk management, centralized counterparty service, indicator price formation, long-term portfolio management and physical delivery.

In his presentation titled "Decarbonization-How Far?" he gave comprehensive assessments of the EU's decarbonization process, the areas to be regulated by the European Green Deal Strategy Document and the objectives the EU wants to achieve commercially. Stating that the strategy document provides a roadmap with clear dates, Özen informed that within the scope of the Strategy document, 30% of the €1 trillion budget will be used for large-scale projects in line with climate targets over a 5-year period. Addressing the investments in hydrogen, which gained importance as an environmentally friendly fuel within the framework of the EU's decarbonization targets, and the future of hydrogen, Erdinç Özen discussed the questions regarding the Memorandum.