Yıldız was addressing a group of reporters in Tripoli, where he was on an official visit with a delegation accompanying Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He said he had no intention of convincing Greenpeace to change its stance. “We will surely have some things to tell each other.” He said he has already had productive dialogue with Greenpeace members.
The energy minister also shared his views on a number of issues regarding the national energy market. He said he had strong hopes that Azerbaijan and Turkey would reach an agreement on the pricing of natural gas flowing from Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan asked Turkey to increase the price paid for natural gas flowing to Turkey to a level close to the average international market price. Turkey buys gas from its neighbor for $120 per cubic meter while the price of gas from Russia and Iran exceeds $400 per cubic meter.
Yıldız also underlined that tenders for the privatization of electricity distribution grids will be completed by the end of 2010.
Currently on official talks in Libya, the minister said the Turkish delegation has made considerable progress in its requests to the Libyan National Oil Company (NOC) to expand the size of the field farmed out to the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) in the Phasania region. The minister also said the two sides have discussed the possibility of selling water to Libya, adding that the delegations have decided to continue talks on technical details of the matter. “We even joked with them by saying we can give them water and take oil in return,” he said.
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