Switzerland-based energy trading company EGL Group has signed separate joint ventures with Turkish state gas importer and pipeline operator Botas and Turkish LPG and LNG trading group Demiroren, the three companies announced in statements released Monday.
The agreement with Botas allows for the two groups to cooperate in areas of oil and natural gas transportation and gas trading and establishes a framework for the transport of natural gas through Turkey to Europe, EGL said. The agreement also allows the two companies to be able to negotiate directly over the possible transit of gas from the Caspian region to Europe through Turkey via the planned Trans Adriatic Pipeline project. It allows Botas to evaluate the project and to look at possible joint ventures in gas marketing and LNG. EGL is a founder member of the consortium promoting the TAP project along with Statoil and E.ON.
The TAP project aims to carry up to 20 billion cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijan and other gas suppliers through Greece to Italy. Current plans foresee the transit of gas from the Azeri Shah Deniz field across Turkey using spare capacity in Botas' existing transmission network then via Greek gas company DEPA's existing network to Thessaloniki from where a new pipeline will be constructed overland through Greece and Albania and then across the Adriatic to Italy.
Although TAP is slated to have a nominal capacity of 20 Bcm/year, Botas' gas transit system across mainland Turkey is believed to have only sufficient capacity to carry a further 8 Bcm/year.
Some of the extra capacity in TAP is thought to be slated to be filled with LNG which could be imported through Botas' existing LNG import terminal on the Sea of Marmara, with the bulk of the capacity thought to be slated for use to carry gas from Iraq or other middle Eastern and Caspian suppliers as and when the gas is made available, for which a new transit line or lines would need to be constructed across Turkey.
EGL's agreement with Turkish energy group Demiroren means the two companies each taking 50% stakes in a subsidiary belonging to the other.
EGL takes a 50% stake Demiroren subsidiary Milangaz LNG Wholesale which holds a natural gas trading license, and which has been renamed Demiroren EGL Gaz while Demiroren takes a 50% stake in EGL's Turkish subsidiary EGL Turkey which holds an electricity trading license through its subsidiary EGL Elektrik Toptan Ticaret AS, and which has been renamed Demiroren EGL Enerji, the companies announced.
