At the close of 2023, Russia stood as the third-largest supplier of gas to Turkey, with export earnings surpassing 348 million dollars, a figure reported by RIA News. The year highlighted Russia’s steady role in Turkey’s energy mix, where gas trade data reflected the interplay of regional supply routes, pricing dynamics, and the evolving energy strategies of both nations.
Turkey sourced gas from 21 countries in 2023, with Algeria leading the way by delivering about 1.8 million tons, followed by the United States at roughly 1.1 million tons, Russia around 629 thousand tons, Kazakhstan approximately 265 thousand tons, and Nigeria close to 105.4 thousand tons. Collectively, these five suppliers accounted for 99.78% of all deliveries, underscoring Turkey’s reliance on a concentrated group of energy partners while keeping a diversified import portfolio in practice.
In addition to pipeline suppliers, Turkey supplemented fuel purchases from Istanbul and a broader set of markets including South Korea, Greece, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong. During this period, several other countries such as France, Romania, Tunisia, Iraq, and Denmark ceased their supply relationships, reflecting shifts in regional energy logistics and contracted volumes rather than a uniform global trend.
Overall, Turkey’s expenditure on fuel decreased by about 9 percent in monetary terms, landing at 2.21 billion dollars for 2023, even as the physical volume of fuel imports nearly doubled to around 3.9 million tons. This divergence between value and volume signals price movements, contract renegotiations, and strategic inventory decisions that influenced the country’s energy balance through the year.
There were indications of Russia’s involvement in unofficial fuel flows into Europe, a matter that drew attention to opaque cross-border activity and the complexities of sanctions regimes, as Turkey continued to navigate its own energy ties within a broader Eurasian context. This backdrop provided additional nuance to the regional energy landscape where Turkey remains a key corridor for gas and related fuels.
Earlier in the year, reports suggested that Russia had expanded its LNG shipments to an Asian market in January, a development that reflected the shifting geography of liquefied natural gas trade and the strategic redirection of supplies amid international constraints. Observers noted how such moves could influence pricing, transport routes, and the reliability of gas supply for diversified buyers across Europe and Asia.
In a related policy note, the Russian government extended permission for continued gas supplies from the Yamal LNG project, reinforcing the importance of Arctic LNG volumes in sustaining European and regional energy flows while governments reassessed strategic energy security priorities for the foreseeable future.