Turkey in talks for gas pipeline from Qatar

Turkey is in negotiations to develop one of the world's largest gas pipeline projects to carry Qatari gas to the Mediterranean Sea.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the third World Future Energy Summit that the mega project was part of his country's strategic plan to secure energy for the future.

Erdogan said: "The most important project is the Qatar-Turkey natural gas pipeline that we are working on, and it will be implemented soon. We highly believe that besides its economic value, this project will be very important for all countries in the region."

He added that Turkey was involved in a number of multinational gas pipeline projects that are already under way. The pipeline projects, he said, carry both Caspian and Middle Eastern gas to the European countries via Turkey.

Erdogan said: "Global energy security is a very crucial matter for all of us. However, energy efficiency, clean energy, climate change and environmental pollution are also as important as energy security. We have the responsibility to meet the needs of the people. We are also obliged to live a life today that assures the lives of future generations. In recent years, the determination of a common and long-term fight against global climate change has become one of the most important and common agenda in the world."

He also called for a co-ordinated global effort to combat climate change and at the same time secure future energy demands.

Erdogan said Turkey has considerable potential for renewable energy. "We have the potential for thermal, hydro, wind and solar electricity generation. The share of renewable energy in our total electricity production is about 20 per cent while our target is 30 per cent by 2023. We aspire to get 20,000 megawatt from wind power sources and geothermal capacity of 600MW by 2030."

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