Turkish Natural Gas Market: A Progressing Opportunity

Introduction

Natural gas does not have a long history in Turkey. The initial demand for natural gas consumption was miniscule, starting at 0,5 bcm in 1987, and increased dramatically in the following years with a growing share of natural gas use in the production of electricity in Turkey. During the first years of Turkey's acquaintance with natural gas, Petroleum Pipeline Corporation ("BOTAS"), which is a state owned company, conducted all of the activities in this newly established market. After this preliminary phase, natural gas became a considerable source for energy in households, industries and in increasing amounts in the electricity production, creating the emerging need for a liberalized marketplace. Both the need arising from the evolution of the market and the efforts of harmonizing the Turkish legislation with the European Union legislation led to the law-makers enacting the Natural Gas Market Law dated April 18, 2001 and numbered 4646 (the "NGML") The