Turkey's BOTAS Taps U.S. LNG

Written by Daniel Graeber for IIR News (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Turkish energy company BOTAS turned a non-binding LNG deal into a nine-year commitment with Woodside Energy. Woodside is busy developing an export terminal on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

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Nine-year Supply Deal

From its proposed Louisiana export facility on the U.S. Gulf Coast, Woodside said it agreed to its first-ever supply arrangement for the Turkish economy.

Building on a non-binding heads of agreement arrangement from September, Turkish energy company Boru Hatları ile Petrol Tasima, better known as BOTAS (Ankara, Turkey), signed a nine-year agreement to secure a half million metric tons per annum (MTPA) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) with Woodside Energy (Perth, Australia).

Supplies would come from the as-yet-built Louisiana LNG facility.

"This supply agreement with BOTAS represents a strategic milestone for Woodside given it is our first long-term LNG supply arrangement with the Turkish market," said Woodside Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Mark Abbotsford.

Among the handful of LNG facilities supported by the federal government since Donald Trump returned to the White House, Louisiana LNG is already sanctioned for deliveries. If completed as expected, it would have an export potential of around 5.2 MPTA.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Project and Plant databases can learn more about Louisiana LNG--including capacities, investment values and necessary equipment--in a detailed project report and plant profile.

Woodside renamed the facility after it completed its buyout of Tellurian Incorporated last October. The plant's former name was Driftwood LNG.

Engineering firm Bechtel (Reston, Virginia) already has started engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work on the initial three trains for the facility.

Woodside said it expected to deliver the first shipments under the BOTAS agreement in 2030, though construction could be delayed. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) early this month gave Woodside another 44 months to start LNG exports from its U.S. facility to countries lacking a U.S. free-trade deal.

Trade Commitments Keep Coming

Turkey has free-trade arrangements with the United Kingdom and members of the European Union (EU), but not the United States. U.S.-sourced LNG is supporting energy security in the EU, though the Turkish economy during the third quarter outpaced its European counterparts.

Net imports for Turkey, however, are about 4% below year-ago levels. Its energy exports, meanwhile, were down 6% compared with 2024 levels, the Turkish Trade Ministry reported.

The United States is the world leader in LNG exports. The federal government expects the amount of feed gas running to the eight operational LNG terminals to average around 16 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) this year.

Data from IIR Energy, however, show feed gas levels are well above the expected average. Levels hit a record December 5 at 19.5 billion cubic feet, but were closer to 18.9 Bcf as of Monday.

Sabine Pass in Louisiana, operated by Cheniere Energy (Houston, Texas), is the largest U.S. export terminal by volume, and expansion plans could put net exports at around 19 MTPA. U.S. LNG commitments, meanwhile, could put a strain on the domestic market as the pace of natural gas production is not expected to keep up with LNG.

That could lead to higher energy bills in the U.S. market. Henry Hub, the U.S. benchmark for the wholesale price of natural gas, is expected to average $4 per million British thermal units next year, the federal government predicted. If accurate, that would be an 83% increase from the 2024 average.

By the Numbers

• 0.5 MTPA for BOTAS
• Nine-year offtake agreement
• projected 83% increase in Henry Hub average from 2024

Key Takeaways

• Woodside signs debut Turkish supply deal.
• Construction could be delayed for Louisiana LNG.
• Feed gas at record levels.

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