NEW ENERGY MINISTER: NO CHANGES TO NUCLEAR POLICY

Today’s Zaman
May 6 2009
Turkey

Taner Yıldız, who recently replaced Hilmi Guler as Turkey’s minister
of energy and natural resources, has announced that there are to be
no changes to Turkey’s nuclear energy policies.

Noting that a commission report has been prepared on bidding for
Turkey’s first nuclear energy plant, Yıldız said the Ministers’
Council would be making its decisions with the help of the report.

Yıldız met with reporters yesterday, talking about various upcoming
goals and projects. With regard to the nuclear power plant, Yıldız
said: "The nuclear power plant is vital from the perspective of
maintaining the nation’s energy supplies. One of the most important
parts of being a developed nation is possessing a nuclear power
reactor. We definitely need to make sure that Turkey gets a nuclear
power reactor."

Increase in price of Azerbaijani natural gas on agenda While relations
with Armenia are a constant source of problems for Turkey in the
international arena, recent contacts between Ankara and Yerevan have
caused consternation in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku. In fact,
one reaction to the shift in Ankara-Yerevan relations has been
talk of Azerbaijan raising the price of the natural gas it sells
Turkey. Yıldız noted that the topic was being treated within the
more general framework of the Nabucco project, but confirmed that
the Ankara administration was in fact dealing with the question of
a hike in natural gas prices from Azerbaijan.

The Nabucco project aims to secure the transport of natural gas
resources from Central Asia to Europe. Yıldız noted that Nabucco
plays a large role in relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. He
also maintained that from this point forward energy would be used as
a constructive tool for shaping relations between countries. "Talks
that concern gas and petrol will be moved away from putting a weight on
politics," he said. On the subject of the possible hike in Azerbaijani
gas prices he explained: "The officials at the General Directorate
of BOTAÅ~^ [state-owned Turkish Pipeline Corporation] in Baku are
continuing their talks and meetings. Tomorrow and in the coming days
there will be a meeting in Prague. We are increasing steps taken toward
finding a solution on this issue. One of the main topics of our talks
is the increase in Azerbaijani gas prices. We are in talks about this."

Asked whether Turkey might experience gas cuts this coming winter,
Yıldız said he didn’t believe Turkey would face any gas supply
problems this winter.

Asked what would happen if no agreements were reached in Baku over
gas prices, and whether this would mean the subject would go into
legal arbitration, Yıldız said "Neither country would want to see
the subject go into arbitration. The problem will be solved before
that happens."

In terms of energy policies for the near future, Yıldız said the
main focus would be on recyclable and local resources. "We will move
on the principle of wanting to see all of our natural, local resources
put into use," he explained, noting that currently there are no plans
to see the Energy Ministry divided. He also noted that there were no
immediate plans to divide the Energy Market Regulatory Agency (EPDK)
into different sections for gas, petrol, liquid petroleum gas (LPG)
and electricity. "This is not something that will occur in the next two
or three months. It will happen sometime in September or October. But
it is a definite goal of ours and it needs to happen sometime in the
next 5-6 months," he added.