Turkey, Norway discuss cooperation on energy

As two of Europe's non-European Union countries, Turkey and Norway discussed yesterday ways to boost ties in the energy field.

The joint projects would include building hydroelectric plants, investing in solar energy and oil explorations in the Black Sea.

"Let's go on a journey in the Black Sea with the Norwegian companies. I hope we'll be as successful as we were in our joint drilling in the Caspian Sea," Hilmi Güler, Energy Minister, said during the "Turkey-Norway Hydro Energy Forum" organized by the Norwegian Embassy and Innovation Norway, on the occasion of the visit by Norwegian Crown Prince Hakoon Magnus to Turkey.

Cooperation on Azeri oil
Prince Hakoon arrived in Turkey on Tuesday and held meetings with President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Accompanied by a large of group of businessmen and government officials, Hakoon's agenda was increasing the level of cooperation between the two countries on energy issues.

Norway is an important oil and natural gas supplier in the world and has great experience in hydroelectric power plants.

The Turkish Petroleum Corporation and Norway's Statoil are cooperating in an international consortium established for drilling and marketing Azerbaijani oil to world markets via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.

"Seismic studies [of the Black Sea] are proving that we can conduct new business investments and set new relations," Güler stated.

TPAO recently signed an oil exploration deal with Exxon-Mobil, hoping economically feasible oil and natural gas reserves would be found in the Black Sea. "Let's not miss this opportunity," the minister added.

On using water as an energy source, Güler recalled the government prepared 1,600 different projects worth $20 billion. "My first offer: Let's build the water turbines here. You may see Turkey as a bridge to both Middle East and Central Asia. We can make money through joint projects," he stated.

Prince Hakoon, for his part, touched on the importance of hydro energy and said that Turkey, with its rich sources of water, could enjoy Norway's experiences. Underlining that Norway produced 90 percent of its electricity from hydro energy, Prince Hakoon said his country was ready to work together with Turkey in this field.

Wind power
On the same day, Turkey and the Netherlands discussed how cooperation on wind power could be conducted, during another forum held on the occasion of the visit of Dutch Foreign Trade Minister Frank Heemskerk.

"We are in need of 500 kilovolt home-style wind turbines and 2.5 megawatt turbines, we could make a cooperation with you on that and are awaiting a long-time marriage from you," Güler said.