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Türkiye’s state energy company BOTAŞ has signed a 20-year deal with trading company Mercuria to buy U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), a senior official said Wednesday, as Ankara works to diversify its energy mix and secure long-term supply stability.
The pact adds to a series of deals Türkiye agreed earlier this month ahead of this year’s expiry of at least 16 billion cubic metres (bcm) worth of gas import deals with Russia. It coincided with U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for Europe to halt Russian energy purchases.
The European Union plans to ban Russian LNG imports into the bloc by the end of 2026 under its latest package of sanctions against Moscow, as Trump presses it to play a more robust role in helping end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Türkiye has not yet agreed new supply deals with Russia.
The deal with Mercuria, signed in New York during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to the U.N. General Assembly, covers the annual supply of around 4 bcm of LNG starting in 2026, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said.
It will total approximately 70 bcm over its duration. Supplies will be sourced from loading terminals in the United States and regasification facilities in Türkiye, Europe and North Africa.
“This agreement will significantly contribute to the $100 billion trade volume target with the U.S.,” Bayraktar said, adding that the deal aims to enhance supply security and diversify Türkiye’s energy sources.
Erdoğan-Trump meeting
Türkiye imported around 50 bcm of natural gas last year, including 14.3 bcm in the form of LNG. Russia supplied 40% of Türkiye’s imports. The U.S. was the fifth-largest supplier, slightly behind Algeria, providing 10% of gas imports.
In Milan last month, BOTAŞ signed deals covering around 15 bcm of gas for the 2026-2028 period. Officials have said new agreements reflect Türkiye’s strategy to build a flexible, multi-sourced and secure energy structure, enhancing predictability in the country’s medium-term gas portfolio.
The latest deal comes amid warming ties between Türkiye and Washington. On Monday, Ankara announced it had lifted retaliatory tariffs imposed in 2018 on a range of U.S. imports, including passenger cars and fruit.
The decision was seen as a gesture of goodwill ahead of Erdoğan’s scheduled meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday.
The natural gas trade, among others, will also be on the agenda during the talks between the two leaders, Bayraktar said on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal.
BOTAŞ is responsible for Türkiye’s oil and gas infrastructure and gas trade, while Mercuria is one of the world’s largest energy and commodity groups.
Preliminary pact with Woodside Energy
Separately, BOTAŞ also signed a long-term preliminary LNG deal with Woodside Energy, Australia’s biggest natural gas producer.
That agreement provides for the supply of some 5.8 bcm of LNG to BOTAŞ for nine years, starting in 2030, mostly from Woodside’s Louisiana LNG project.
The deal comes at a time when the U.S. potentially faces an oversupply of LNG in the next few years, although Woodside remains optimistic about the demand side for the commodity, projecting growth of 50% over the next decade.
“We believe this will mark the beginning of a successful partnership between BOTAS and Woodside,” Bayraktar said.
“The companies have already expressed their intention to expand the relationship beyond a proposed LNG sales agreement and build a strategic cooperation in the wider region,” he added.
“We strongly support this vision,” he said.
Woodside’s Louisiana LNG complex, which is the largest foreign investment in the southern state’s history, was the first U.S. LNG project to get the financial go-ahead after Trump returned to office in January and promised to unleash U.S. energy onto the world.
The project received final approval in late April and is slated to deliver its first gas in 2029.
Woodside had, in early May, said it was looking to sell a further 20%-30% stake amid growing interest in the $17.5 billion project since its final approval.
