Turkey, Qatar sign Liquefied Natural Gas deal

Turkey's state-run Turkish Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) signed a deal with Qatar to purchase liqueified natural gas (LNG), it was reported.

The deal was signed on Wednesday during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's state visit to this country. Erdoğan is currently in Qatar on a two-day official visit. He had left for Doha after attending the UN climate summit in Paris.

Turkey consumes around 45 billion cubicmeters of gas every year. It buys 4 bcm from Algeria and 1.2 bmc from Nigeria every year. Qatar, with a reserve of about 885 trillion cubicmeters according to the US Energy Information Agency, is the world's largest LNG supplier.

Speaking to reporters in Doha, Erdoğan also announced that Turkey and Qatar have agreed to mutually lift visa requirements.

“The 16th step we have taken mutually is the lifting the visa requirements. The two countries have decided to mutually lift visa requirements. It is as if it were a last-ditch bid," Erdoğan said, referring to other mutual steps taken between the two allied states.

The Article 13 in the 15-point preliminary memorandum has centered on energy cooperation regarding Turkey's gas purchase.

The newly-signed deal is expected to provide a long-term perspective to Turkey's efforts to import natural gas from this country through seasonal deals. “We discussed what sort of steps we can take ahead after the crisis appeared between Turkey and Russia. We will take a step to store gas in the deal with Qatar," Erdoğan elaborated.

The newly-signed deal is expected to provide a long-term perspective to Turkey's efforts to import natural gas from this country through seasonal deals.

The two countries reportedly embarked on preparations to create an infrastructure for signing of the original agreement in this context. Turkey is expected to sign the original agreement, which will include the amount and the terms of LNG it will import from Qatar.

The contract has emerged amid escalating tension between Turkey and Russia, a key gas supplier for Turkey. Relations between Ankara and Moscow have been severely strained when a Russian Su-24 bomber was downed by Turkish F-16s on November 24 after it had violated country's ait space despite several warnings.

Russian President Vladimir Putin imposed a long list of economic sanctions on Turkey in retaliation for the government's refusal to issue an apology. Energy supplies were not affected by the economic measures.