Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 23 / Trend A.Badalova /
Turkey may cut imports of Iranian oil and gas due to the sacntions that the EU has tightening against Iran, Energy Security Analysis (ESAI) expert Andrew Reed believes.
According to Reed, sanctions are particularly difficult for Turkey due to its relatively high reliance on Iran for both natural gas and crude oil.
"Due to this reliance, there are some expectations that Turkey will merely cut deliveries from Iran rather than eliminate them," Reed wrote Trend in an e-mail.
The EU governments last week imposed sanctions against major Iranian state companies in the oil and gas industry, and strengthened restrictions on the Central Bank, cranking up financial pressure over Tehran's nuclear program.
The import, purchase and transport of natural gas from Iran was also banned, following the more significant embargo on oil imports which came into effect in July.
Turkey is the largest importer of natural gas in the region. According to the Turkish state pipeline company Botas, Turkey imported 39.7 billion cubic meters of gas in 2011. The country has the agreements with Russia to import gas (30 billion cubic meters per year), with Iran (10 billion cubic meters per year), Azerbaijan (6.6 billion cubic meters (after 2017, plus six billion more from the second phase of Shah Deniz field development). Moreover, Turkey buys liquefied gas from Algeria (four billion cubic meters) and Nigeria (1.2 billion cubic meters).
The export of Iranian gas to Turkey increased by 12 percent in 2011 compared to 2010, amounting to 24 million cubic meters of gas per day.
On the oil side, Reed said, that there are early signs that Turkey is taking measures to cut intake of Iranian crude - in no small part by absorbing more Azeri Light crude at the expense of BTC Blend exports from Ceyhan.
Turkey imports 8 million tons of oil and eight billion cubic meters of gas from Iran annually.
According to data from Reuters AIS Live ship tracking and a shipping source, Turkish imports of Iranian crude oil plummeted to around 100,000 barrels per day in September.