Greece still waiting for Turkey to re-start gas exports

Feb 10, 2012, 15:43 GMT

Istanbul - Greece was still waiting for Turkey to re-start exports of natural gas, a spokesman for Greek gas importer DEPA, told dpa Friday.

The spokesman confirmed that exports of gas from Azerbaijan to Greece via Turkey had still not re-started despite exports from Azerbaijan to Turkey re-starting.

'We have no gas arriving from Turkey, and we haven't been told when to expect any,' he said, confirming that DEPA had been able to avoid a shortage by increasing the use of LNG imported by ship.

'We're experiencing record demand, the LNG will run out if we can't get other supplies,' he warned.

Turkey stopped exports of Azeri gas to Greece following separate and unrelated cuts in exports from Azerbaijan and Iran on Monday and Tuesday.

A spokesman for BP, which operates Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas field from which gas is exported to Turkey and Greece, told dpa Friday that gas production on the field had restarted.

'Gas is being produced and exported and the flow is being increased slowly to normal levels,' she said.

Turkey imports up to 6.6 billion cubic metres a year of Azeri gas under a 2001 agreement which allows Turkey to re-export the gas.

In turn Turkey exports up to 800 million cubic metres a year to Greece under an agreement signed in 2002.

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