Turkey is making progress on building the infrastructure for an international gas hub in Istanbul, according to Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar.
“The work on the Istanbul gas hub project is ongoing. We are currently building its infrastructure,” Bayraktar stated in an interview with the business newspaper Ekonomim.
He also announced plans to relocate Energy Markets Business (EPIAS) to Istanbul’s financial center by April-May 2025. Following the Turkish Parliament’s adoption of a climate law, the market will be expanded to include an international commodity platform for carbon credit trading.
Previously, Bayraktar revealed plans for the 2025 launch of a gas trading center in Istanbul, involving Turkey’s state-owned company BOTAŞ and Russia’s Gazprom, as part of the international gas hub initiative.
The idea for a Turkish gas hub was initially proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in October 2022. The hub would redirect volumes lost from the disrupted Nord Stream pipeline. Turkish officials have indicated that most of the necessary infrastructure is already in place. In December 2023, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced that implementation of the project could begin in 2024.
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Based on TASS materials