Crunch time for Nabucco

Turkish prime minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan delivered a pointed message to European energy markets on a three-day visit to Brussels last week, stating that, if talks on Turkey's accession to the EU remain blocked: "we would of course review our position". This was Ankara 'playing the energy card', and demonstrated how developments through 2008 have changed Europe's energy outlook.

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Enel/Enka: joint venture offers temporary solution

Italian utility Enel has teamed up with Turkish conglomerate Enka to establish a joint venture that aims to acquire three Turkish utilities. Should they succeed in making these acquisitions, the two companies' combined range of specialties should ensure that post-merger integration can be completed successfully. However, tension between the partners may be unavoidable in the long-run.

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European cards: credit cards proving popular in Turkey

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Gazprom: casting the net further

The EU wants to restructure the import process for non-community gas, in a way that will cut exporters' margins. Unsurprisingly, this has driven Russia's Gazprom to find other outlets for its gas production, with deals underway in Turkey and China. However, it is also still keeping a strong presence in Europe, taking control of its distribution network.

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Gazprom: integrating vertically by expanding its power generation portfolio

Russian energy giant Gazprom is planning to extend its reach into Western Europe's energy market by investing in new power generating assets. Gazprom's plans come at an interesting time when Europe's energy market faces numerous challenges, and the development will raise eyebrows among regulators trying to unbundle existing energy monopolies.

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GdF-Suez expands in Turkey's gas market

GdF-Suez is to purchase Turkish gas distributor Izgaz after submitting the highest bid, at $232 million, in the tender for the privatization of the company. The gas distributor rights of Izgaz are a sensible acquisition, as Turkey's market is expanding rapidly and has stabilized since 2000.

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LPG: Turkish demand will double in next 10 years

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Russo-Georgian conflict raises the stakes for European energy security

Recent Russian hostilities in Georgia, alongside PKK attacks on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, have exposed the tight link between geopolitics and energy security in upstream European supplies. While the EU is increasingly looking to Central Asia and the Middle East to diversify supply options, it will need strong resolve and plausible political incentives if such a strategy is to succeed.

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Turkey likely to encounter many hurdles on the road to nuclear power

Turkey has announced a tender for the construction of the first of three nuclear power plants designed to provide 20% of the country's energy supplies over the next two decades. Despite such targets, various risks will impede Ankara's efforts to attract the necessary investments. Local content laws, environmental concerns and contractual liabilities will all be potential sticking points.

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Turkey: new feed-in tariffs may not be enough to kick start domestic renewables industry

As emerging renewable energy markets across Europe opt to cut their feed-in tariffs for photovoltaics in an attempt to curtail government spending, Turkey is introducing its first feed-in tariff support scheme for solar power, as well as wind, hydro, and geothermal technology. However, the new changes are unlikely to be enough to meet Turkey's ambitious renewables targets.

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