Hürriyet
Daily News
Turkey
awaits normalization with Israel to discuss energy projects, as Israel’s energy
plans would only be reasonable if Turkey was involved, Turkish Energy Minister
has said
Turkey
is not indifferent toward Israel’s energy projects for transferring the Eastern
Mediterranean natural gas and oil to the international markets, since the
resources would be not be feasible unless they were transferred through Turkey,
Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said.
“It
is the same for Greek Cyprus,” Yıldız told reporters yesterday. “It will have
no benefit to your people if you say ‘I will do it even if it is expensive.’
I’m telling this both for Israel and Greek Cyprus,” he said, adding that the
projects would be meaningful only if the right move is made.
But,
discussing energy deals before the restoration of ties between Turkey and
Israel has been finalized would be impossible, according to the minister.
“As
relations normalize in the future, then we can discuss if natural gas could be
transferred by a pipeline through Turkey,” the minister said.
The
reason why Israel apologized to Turkey was “not the energy projects,” but those
projects could form part of the outcome, the minister said.
Ankara
would follow suit if Israel were to fulfill its commitments to restore ties
with Turkey, Yıldız added.
In
2009, Israel discovered some of the largest offshore reserves of natural gas. A
burst of exploration followed and, by the end of 2013, 18 new wells are
expected to be drilled at a cost of $1.8 billion.
Nuke
plant process
On
the other hand, Yıldız said the process for a second nuclear power plant in
Turkey had been extended due to competition between bidding companies as Turkey
sought further advantages. “We are very close to the final decision,” he
said.Talks are continuing with four firms, from South Korea, Japan and China,
who are bidding for the construction of a second nuclear plant in Turkey. In
March, GDF Suez, a French electric utility company, with Japanese Mitsubishi
Corp and Itochu Corp, submitted a joint bid to build the plant.
Turkey
is already working on a separate plan to carry Caspian natural gas to the
western province of İzmir, a project that might turn the energy-hungry country
into a gas distribution hub. The $7 billion Trans Anatolia Pipeline (TANAP) is
a joint project with Azerbaijan’s state-run Socar as two consortia, Nabucco
West and Trans-Adriatic pipeline (TAP) competing to distribute the gas from the
Shah Deniz II gas field to half a billion potential consumers in Europe.
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