A review of Turkish natural gas distribution market

In Turkey, natural gas consumption started at 0.5 bcm (billion cubic meters) in 1987 and reached approximately 35 bcm in 2007. Turkish natural gas usage is projected to further increase remarkably in coming years. In 2001, a reform process was started to create and strengthen a competitive natural gas market. However, the reform has not worked out as expected so far. The present article discusses the application of auctions in Turkish natural gas distribution zones. After presenting a short summary of current literature, natural gas utilization and recent developments in Turkish natural gas market, we draw attention to our main focus, namely city natural gas tenders. Having described the tenders, we present problems associated with them. In the end, we touch upon some regulatory issues and provide some suggestions for improvement.