Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A delegation of Uzbekistan led by the Deputy Minister of Energy paid a working visit to Turkey on 1-10 July 2021 to study the gas transportation system, the progress of reforms in the energy sector in Turkey.

During the trip, the members of the delegation got acquainted with the activities of the leading Turkish companies operating in this area. During the working visit, the delegation visited a number of cities, was, in particular, familiarized with the algorithm of work of one of the gas supply operators in the city of Duzche, including the system of accounting and quality of the main indicators of the gas distribution station. The structure of connection of subscribers to gas supply, the design process, construction of internal networks, execution of contracts, taking readings from gas meters has been studied.

Also, the systems for diagnostics of the technical condition of underground gas pipelines and the experience of gasification in the city of Bolu were studied. In particular, technical characteristics and operating modes of gas distribution points were presented. The process of gas supply installation in multi-storey buildings, testing of pipelines under pressure and other necessary processes are considered. The practice of using a mobile laboratory and gas leak detection devices has also been studied.

In particular, the experience of work in this area of Aksa Dogal GAS, specializing in the supply of natural gas, was studied. It was established in 2000 and is a licensed gas supply operator in 27 regional centers and 197 districts and cities located in 31 provinces of Turkey.

The company owns 21 of the 72 gas supply operators operating in Turkey. Aksa Dogal GAS supplies natural gas to 3.7 million consumers per year, the supply is carried out using 32 thousand kilometers of pipelines. About 9.6 billion cubic meters of gas are supplied, which is 20 percent of Turkey’s total domestic natural gas consumption.

The specialists of Uzbekistan were introduced to the work of the innovative system in the data center of the company, the Republican dispatch center, the customer service system and other areas.

In Turkey, a single distribution center (Data Center) has been created to receive applications from consumers, which accepts applications from all regions of the country and then sends them to the field. The group closest to the place where the application is received will be identified by GPRS and sent there. The normal time to get to your destination is 15 minutes.

As part of the implementation of the ASKUG system in Uzbekistan, one of the necessary elements of equipment - natural gas regulators, is supplied from Turkey. During the working trip, the delegation got acquainted with the activities of the manufacturer of these regulators - ESKA company. The production, quality control, packaging and loading of gas regulators and gas distribution points by ESKA is carried out mainly by robots in an automated system without taking into account the human factor.

The program of the visit also included an acquaintance with the NTG Plastik plant. Since its foundation in 1978, it has specialized in the production of various polyethylene pipes and fittings. The enterprise operates mainly for export, in particular, the polyethylene pipes produced here (with a diameter of 20 mm to 1200 mm) and about 800 types of connectors are supplied to 65 countries of the world. All products are certified in accordance with international standards.

After studying the practice of various parts of the gas supply system in the field, the members of the delegation of Uzbekistan held a series of meetings with the officials of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey, the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA), the state-owned company BOTAS Petroleum Pipeline Corporation.

The specialists of the two countries exchanged views on the possibilities of applying the best practices in organizing gas supply.

In accordance with the legislatively fixed tariff policy of Turkey for gas, there are 3 types of tariff prices in the country for residential consumers, industrial consumers and power generators.

It should be noted that the total number of natural gas consumers in Turkey, according to 2020, is 17.5 million, of which 16.8 million are household subscribers (population).

The total consumption of natural gas in the Republic of Turkey is 47.7 billion cubic meters, including consumers - 15.4 billion cubic meters, power plants - 13.6 billion cubic meters, industry - 12.7 billion cubic meters and others - 6.0 billion cubic meters. At the same time, 99.7% of the need for natural gas is covered by imports (natural gas from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, liquefied natural gas from Algeria, North Korea and Nigeria).

Based on the results of the working visit to Turkey, the possibility of using elements of introducing market mechanisms, based on the Turkish experience, will be considered in a number of directions. In particular, on the issue of creating a regulator for the energy market, providing investors with gas distribution capacities for use on the basis of public-private partnerships and others.