Türkiye has extended its natural gas import contract with Russia for one year while exploring potential energy investments with the United States, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has said.
Bayraktar confirmed that the Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Corporation renewed two major contracts with Gazprom, covering about 22 billion cubic meters of gas set to expire at year’s end. “Russian gas will keep flowing next year, but we are prioritizing short‑term arrangements, essentially one‑year extensions,” he said.
The minister also pointed to Türkiye’s growing liquefied natural gas purchases, noting a significant share now comes from the United States. He said Ankara is considering upstream investments in the U.S. market as a hedging strategy, with expectations of about 1,500 LNG cargoes over the next 10 to 15 years, most linked to the Henry Hub price index.
Bayraktar added that talks are underway between the Turkish Petroleum Corporation and major U.S. energy firms, including Chevron and Exxon, with agreements possibly announced next month.
Despite Western sanctions on Moscow, Türkiye remains one of Russia’s key natural gas markets in Europe.