ANKARA
By Murat Temizer
Norway may supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Turkey in the future, but at the moment Turkey needs more LNG than Norway can produce, according to Norwegian Ambassador to Turkey.
Janis Bjorn Kanavin recognises Turkey's potential as a rising energy consumer; "Turkey is the fastest growing energy market in Europe. So, Turkey is important for us".
Although Norway produces lots of gas, its LNG production is limited, says Kanavin. It has long-term agreements mostly to supply the UK and Europe.
Turkey also wants more LNG from Norway and a long-term contract, as expressed by Turkey's Energy Minister, Taner Yildiz in his visit to Norway in April. However, the drawback on the Norwegian side is that, "we basically have one production facility and the situation depends on price and contracts," adds Kanavin.
Norway supports Turkey's EU membership bid, "we believe in stronger international relations, so does Turkey".
Kanavin wanted to highlight that Statoil is a company that likes to build trust with the countries it does business with. For example, Statoil reduced its quarter share in the Shah Deniz gas field to 15 percent, by selling 10 percent of its shares to BP and SOCAR.
"Most gas producers want full control of the gas but Norwegian oil and gas giant, Statoil decided not to. It’s a sign of trust and Statoil trusts Turkey and Azerbaijan," says Kanavin.
- Russian sanctions on EU and relations with Europe
Norway believes that the measures taken by European Union might get the Russian leadership to wake up, according to Kanavin.
"Do they really want us to sort of feel less safe and more threatened because of their actions in Crimea and Ukraine? Along with these measures we can reduce the tension through dialogue."
"I don’t think we feel threatened by those sanctions. We feel threatened by the military action, not by the economic sanctions."
Norway is Europe's largest oil producer, the world's third-largest natural gas exporter after Russia and Qatar, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration. Also, in 2013, Norway supplied 21% of total European natural gas need.
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