**Botas signs another LNG contract, this time for 1.6 bcm/yr from Total**
**EDIT: Total's press release says this is only a 'Heads of Agreement' contract, meaning it is non-binding and the deal has not been finalised, similar to Exxon agreement**
Following the recent contract signed with Shell, Botas follows up with another contract starting in 2027 from Total. It has also signed recent contracts with Oman and Exxon, although the latter has never been confirmed as anything more than a preliminary agreement.
With Botas' Russian and Irani contracts expiring in the coming years, it has been moving to diversify its supply, and has turned to LNG as a flexible source which it can take or divert elsewhere if not needed in Turkey.
Turkey has a huge regasification capacity of more than 150mn m3/d which is not fully utilised particularly in summer, so signing more LNG contracts makes sense to better utilise their extensive infrastructure.
I would still expect to see a renewal of some of their pipeline deals in the next year, as Turkey aspires to become a 'gas hub' for the region. If that is to come, then they will need supply from all directions as well as LNG, particularly as such contracts are normally priced differently to LNG.
These supplies will be bolstered by Black Sea gas, production of which is slowly rising and should reach 10mn m3/d soon, and much higher in the longer term. This will make Turkey much less dependent on imports, as historically it has imported basically all of its gas. In turn, this gives them flexibility to sell on whatever is not needed.
But regulatory changes are still needed if this 'hub' is really to happen, regardless of how much gas Turkey has. In particular there is a great need for more transparency, which is sorely lacking in Turkey even for market players already active there. If the desire is to attract foreign players to trade in Turkey, they need more transparency and regulatory certainty.
#gas #CEE #Turkey #Botas #Total #LNG #trading #transparency
