LNG (liquefied natural gas) which is obtained by cooling natural gas at approximately -162°C at atmospheric pressure is used when it is not technically or economically feasible to carry the natural gas through pipelines. There are three LNG terminals operating in our country. The first LNG terminal was Marmara Ereğlisi LNG Terminal, which was set into operation by BOTAŞ in 1994. A private sector company, Ege Gas established Aliaga LNG terminal in 2001, which commenced its operations in 2006. This became the second LNG terminal in the country. The first FSRU terminal of Turkey was the Floating LNG Terminal (FSRU) of Etki Port Operations Natural Gas Import and Trade Company, which started operating in 2016. In addition, efforts are being made to connect and integrate the two floating LNG storage and regasification units (FSRU) in the natural gas grid system, which will be located in Hatay/Dörtyol and Çanakkale/Saros Gulf by BOTAŞ with the objective of providing supply security and diversification of natural gas supply.
In 2017, 10,765.28 million Sm3 LNG (Long Term and Spot) was imported corresponding to 19.48% of the total imports. 37.79% of the total LNG imports is Spot LNG imports and the rest is imported by BOTAŞ from Algeria and Nigeria under long-term contracts. * (EMRA Natural Gas Market Report 2017)