ISTANBUL

Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has announced that a new phase is opening in the energy cooperation between Türkiye and Azerbaijan.

“We are working on the transmission of electricity generated in Azerbaijan, particularly from renewable energy sources to Türkiye via Georgia and Nakhchivan,” Bayraktar told state-run Anadolu Agency.

“We also aim to transmit electricity generated from renewable energy sources to Türkiye and, through Türkiye, to European markets,” he added.

Bayraktar emphasized that the Southern Gas Corridor is a globally

significant project that enables the transportation of natural gas from the Caspian Basin to Türkiye and then to Europe.

The aim is to increase TANAP’s capacity from 16 billion cubic meters to 31 billion cubic meters, according to the ministers.

“Türkiye, both as a major market and a key natural gas hub, is ready to continue fulfilling its role as always,” he said.

Bayraktar also stressed that the transportation of Azerbaijani oil via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline through Türkiye has made important contributions to the global oil markets, noting that approximately 700,000 barrels of oil flow through this route daily.

On April 4, Bayraktar attended the 11th Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council and the third Ministerial Meeting of the Green Energy Advisory Council in Baku, Azerbaijan.

On the same day, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and Georgia signed a memorandum of understanding under the “Green Electricity Transmission and Trade Project.”

Bayraktar stated that with the signing of the memorandum, the multilateral process between the four countries has now been formalized. 

With this project, the foundations of which were established at last year’s Istanbul Energy Forum, Bayraktar stated that the four countries will be connected through new interconnection lines.

“This will make the cross-border transmission and trade of electricity produced from renewable energy sources possible,” he said, adding that once the project is implemented, transmission systems will be modernized, the production infrastructure will operate more efficiently, and energy security will increase.

Meanwhile, during Bayraktar’s visit, Türkiye’s Electricity Transmission Corporation (TEİAŞ) and Azerbaijan’s largest electrical power producer, Azerenerji, signed an operating agreement to enhance energy cooperation between Türkiye and Azerbaijan. 

Bayraktar stated that after oil and natural gas, electricity trade could also become an important part of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.