Turkey's Genel Energy to start gas imports from Kurdish autonomy in 2015
Turkish Genel Energy, which is engaged in exploring and developing hydrocarbon fields in the Iraqi Kurdish autonomy, plans to import natural gas into Turkey in early 2015, Genel Energy head Tony Hayward was quoted by The Lira newspaper as saying.
Hayward stressed that the company plans to import four billion cubic meters of gas from Kurdish autonomy by 2016.
Genel Energy has invested over $3 billion in the energy sector of Kurdish autonomy and become the largest investor in the autonomy.
By 2020, Turkey expects growth up to 70 billion cubic meters in the demand for natural gas which is an indication for Turkey's need to diversify gas supplies to the country, deputy director general of Botas state pipeline company Mehmet Konuk said earlier.
Spokesman for the Iraqi Oil Ministry, Asym Jihad, told Trend news agency that Baghdad will impose sanctions against Turkish companies if any of them sign an oil and gas agreement with the Kurdish government without the permission of the Iraqi central government.