New gas partnerships key for Europe supply security, experts say

New partnerships in natural gas are crucial for Europe as it provides the opportunity to diversify the energy portfolio, Laszlo Fritsch, the CEO of Hungary's state-owned energy company MVM CEEnergy, said Friday at The Istanbul Energy Forum.

The Istanbul Energy Forum, organized by Anadolu under the auspices of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, focuses on the theme 'Common Future, Common Goals,' bringing global energy leaders together to address shared challenges.

The role of gas, especially in central Europe is "much more important than for the rest of Europe," Fritsch said at the BOTAS Plenary Session titled "New Dynamics of Gas Security: Regional Perspectives" during the international energy conference.

Fritsch noted that the opportunities are growing for the region.

Fritsch also mentioned that MVM has had a lot of development in the last decade not only in gas but also in green energy.

"Traditionally, Russian gas is quite important to us. However, the new partnerships, so far, are quite also important. It gives us the opportunity to diversify our portfolio," he added.

- 'Demand for energy transition is growing'

Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR's President Rovshan Najaf emphasized that the rising demand for cleaner energy sources, including natural gas, placed unprecedented pressure on suppliers.

"The demand for electricity, fueled by artificial intelligence technologies and the energy transition, is growing at a tremendous pace," he said.

"I don't think we will see competition among suppliers – rather, the real challenge will be meeting the demand," Najaf said.

Azerbaijan has become one of the main gas suppliers of European countries, especially after the energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine, he said.

SOCAR currently supplies gas to 11 European countries, and Najaf said the company aims to reach even more clients by the end of the year, including EU member states.

"We are committed to contributing to the energy security of the region, and we are doing this together as partners," he concluded.

- 'Energy security important in regions with limited energy access'

Drawing attention to the places where the energy access is limited, Hamed Al Naamany, CEO of Oman LNG, underlined the need for energy security.

Al Naamany said that LNG is looking for ways to be able to help its partners on achieving their goals in terms of energy access.

Al Naamany said that LNG would be able to address problems which would occur because of energy access through Turkish markets.

Türkiye is seen as "massive access" to Europe and closer in distance to Oman for being able to grow into European markets, said Al Naamany.

"When we started discussing with BOTAS, what we saw is very quick complementarity. We found that we were looking at agility and flexibility in the same manner. We also saw it as a way to be able to broaden our access to one of the largest markets," said Al Naamany.

Al Naamany said opening up new opportunities for competition and technology can help to reduce prices.

"The most important element aside investment is flexibility in terms we want to work with our partners in a way that continue to be win-win," said Al Naamany.

Expressing their desire on seeing more investments in number of blocks in Oman, Naamany said: "We would like to see partners to come and work with the government and develop those blocks."

- 'OMV developing gas field in the in Black Sea'

Franck Neel, executive board member of OMV, said his firm has established a long term relationship with Türkiye's BOTAS contractually, but also with the relationship between the teams which is very important.

He recalled that OMV and BOTAS began to work in 2005 on the LNG mobility.

OMV is developing some gas field in the Black Sea, it has two projects, in fact, one in Romanian Black Sea, he stressed.

Neel said the firm is already operating in some offshore production on the shallow water, but it is aiming to move to deep offshore.

It has also an exploration in Bulgaria, if all the permitting goes well, the firm could start next year the exploration well, he noted.

Neel said supply and price are two challenges; it is important to diversity supply and ensure enough supply for the demand to be able for the price to be affordable for consumers.