‘Turkey cannot remain indifferent to developments in LNG bunkering’: EgeGaz

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The 10.8 mtpa EgeGaz Aliaga terminal is Turkey’s sole private onshore LNG import facility. Located near Izmir on the country’s western coast, it began operations in 2006 and, in the years since, has not only provided regas services for the Turkish natural gas sector, but also offered customers in a variety of segments, including construction, tourism and agriculture, access to small-scale LNG volumes.

Ibrahim Akbal is the chairman and managing director of Ege Gaz A.S. (EgeGaz), the company that owns and operates the EgeGaz Aliaga terminal, and is also the chair of the TOBB Turkish Natural Gas Industry Council and vice president of Turkey’s Natural Gas Importers Association (GAZID). EgeGaz forms part of the Colakoglu Group, Turkey’s first private equity entity investing in the country’s natural gas sector.

In this interview, Akbal explains how EgeGaz is now planning to expand its small-scale offering to include LNG bunkering and why Turkey’s long experience in the use of LPG in road transport can pave the way for LNG as fuel in long-haul trucking, which in turn could lead to the adoption of alternative energy solutions such as biofuels and, further down the line, hydrogen.