Turkey's energy security is not a problem despite the war, but the situation is volatile

Turkish media reported that Energy Minister Alparslan. Bayraktar said on Tuesday, "Turkey is not facing any issues regarding energy supply security due to the Iran War but...the situation is volatile". "We hope that the?war?will not last much longer." Bayraktar said to reporters Monday night after a cabinet session that the process was under his control. "There are no problems or difficulties in the energy supply security." Turkey is a major energy importer and neighbours Iran. It is also one of the emerging market economies most exposed to the global energy prices jump. Bayraktar stated in late March that Turkey’s dependence on Middle East crude oil is at a “manageable” 10% of its total supply and?that it has taken steps to diversify.

He said that every $1 increase in oil prices added about $400 million to Turkey’s energy bill. Iran, Turkey’s fourth largest gas supplier, had not cut off natural gas supplies yet.

Bayraktar informed reporters on Monday that he spoke with the Hungarian Foreign Minister and discussed the topic of protecting the TurkStream pipeline. The TurkStream pipeline carries Russian gas through the Black Sea to southern Europe.

The weekend saw the discovery of explosives near the TurkStream pipeline in Serbia, which prompted the Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban convene an?emergency defence council.

In January 2020, Russia and Turkey officially launched the TurkStream?pipeline. It has a 31.5 billion cubic metre capacity per year. The 'pipeline' allows Moscow to bypass Ukraine as a route of transit?to Europe.

Bayraktar stated that "the security of the pipeline on our side and in the Black Sea is important."

(source: Reuters)