Haydar Çolakoğlu: “The spot LNG market is growing day by day”

The “1st Turkish Energy and Mining Forum: Year of Opportunity 2018” gathering organized with the support of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources opened on Thursday 22 February 2018 at İstanbul Lütfi Kırdar Uluslararası Kongre ve Sergi Sarayı with an address by Dr Berat Albayrak, Turkey’s energy and natural resources minister. During the forum, which was held to highlight Turkey’s strategic importance in energy and to draw attention to upcoming investment opportunities in 2018, all aspects of energy markets were explored and discussed.

During the day-long forum, energy sector senior executives, academicians, and representatives of non-governmental organizations and regulatory agencies met and discussed such topics as “The Turkish model in renewable energy: Technology transfer and the future of the Renewable Energy Resource Area model”, “New era in natural gas security and the LNG market”, “Energy investment financing”, and “A new model for Turkey’s mineral extraction industry”.

Çolakoğlu: “Supply security is an issue that needs to be managed effectively and efficiently”

Speaking during the “New era in natural gas security and the LNG market” panel discussion, Egegaz deputy chairman Haydar Çolakoğlu noted “The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources is taking visionary steps. Looking back, the point that we’ve reached in such a short time is very important. Our presence here as energy sector stakeholders is a very good development for our industry.” Stressing that supply security is an issue that needs to be managed effectively and efficiently, Çolakoğlu said “Recognizing the challenges of the part of the world in which we live, we need to do our part as an industry whose goal must be to avoid returning to the days of electricity and natural gas supply disruptions.”

Offering his own opinions about LNG markets, Haydar Çolakoğlu said “The spot LNG market accounts for about a 20% share of global LNG markets these days. In the years ahead that percentage is going to become bigger and reach 40-50% or so. The flexibility of spot-market LNG is making it the most attractive source of energy available; what’s more, it’s priced quite affordably as well. Not long ago LNG was a fuel that only wealthy countries could use; nowadays everybody’s able to import it.”

Drawing attention also to cost-based pricing, Çolakoğlu said “Supplying LNG to consumers in the most efficient way possible and ensuring that no gas is wasted should always be a prime concern. We must never suppose that anything’s “done and dusted” and keep asking ourselves how we can maintain our competitiveness and keep moving forward.”