April 28 (Reuters) – Turkey is in talks with U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil over a multibillion-dollar deal to buy liquefied natural gas, aiming to reduce its dependence on of Russian energy, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
The country is seeking to build a “new supply portfolio” that will make it less dependent on a single partner, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told the FT in an interview.
Turkey would get up to 2.5 million tonnes of LNG per year through a long-term deal being discussed with Exxon, Bayraktar told the FT.
The deal could last a decade, he added.
Bayraktar said the commercial terms of the deal with Exxon were still under discussion.
Turkey’s announced deal with Exxon comes at a time when Russian exports to Europe are declining as Europe increases its LNG purchases from global producers to reduce its Russian pipeline imports in response to the conflict in Ukraine.
Russian exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe fell 1.9% to 15.8 million tonnes in 2023, according to LSEG data.
Turkey, which has little oil and gas, is heavily dependent on imports from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, as well as LNG from Algeria, Qatar, the United States and Nigeria.
(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bangalore; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
