World Bulletin / News Desk

If Israel wants to sell its natural gas to Europe, it must deal with Turkey, Birol Erguven, the CEO of Limak Energy said Thursday.

Erguven told The Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview that Turkey benefits from its location, in that it has natural gas various supplier countries around its borders.

Israel is one source that could help Turkey diversify its supplies, Erguven said, and Iraq is another.

“Iraqi natural gas may come to Turkey in the near future, and Turkey can add this option to its natural gas supplier countries,” he said.

Erguven also talked about Limak Energy's investments in other countries. For example, the company wants to use its electricity production experience in Africa, he said.

“Especially in Nigeria we are looking for an opportunity in the field of electricity generation,” he said.

Iraq has 3.1 trillion cubic meters of known natural gas reserves -- the world's 11th largest proven reserves, according to the American Energy Information Administration.

But problems with infrastructure and bureaucracy have meant that Iraq is not able to produce the 1 billion cubic meters of gas annually that it otherwise could.

The Leviathan gas field off the coast of Israel, only recently discovered, is a major gas hub in the region.

The reserves hold nearly 600 billion cubic meters of gas.