Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan.9 / Trend, A.Taghiyeva /
Turkey intends to purchase about 6 billion cubic meters of liquefied gas in 2013 due to growing energy needs in the country, the Hurriyet newspaper quotes Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz as saying on Wednesday.
He said Turkey hopes to receive about three billion cubic meters of liquefied gas from Qatar, the rest - from the U.S..
As for Qatar's intentions to build a gas liquefaction plant in Turkey, Yildiz said that the Qatari side prefers to buy a share of a liquefied gas producing plant, which exists in Turkey.
Yildiz said earlier that Qatar intends to build a new liquefied gas plant on the coast of the Gulf of Saros in the northern part of the Aegean Sea.
The plant's capacity is expected to hit 5-6 billion cubic meters of liquefied gas per year.
Yildiz said earlier that the volume of the liquefied gas market in Turkey hit 3.7 million tons in 2012. This means Turkey ranks second in Europe and 15th in the world for the volume of the liquefied gas market.
According to a report of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK), imports of liquefied gas into Turkey in September 2012 were 291,995 tons compared to 258,570 tons in the same period of 2011.