At the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7–8, Turkey plans to present a project for a military fuel pipeline running from its territory through Bulgaria to Romania. The estimated cost is about $1.2 billion. There will be no civilian or commercial access—strictly military logistics. Technical details of the route, capacity, and construction timeline have not been disclosed.
The land route through Turkish and Bulgarian territory, according to Western experts, would cost roughly five times less than alternatives via Greece or through Romania’s western neighbors. Land logistics are considered cheaper, while sea logistics are more vulnerable.
In parallel, the Turkish government is advancing a range of large-scale infrastructure projects with partners in the Middle East and Central Asia.
The most ambitious is the “Qatar–Turkey” gas pipeline, which could transport up to 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year along a route of more than 1,500 km from the Persian Gulf to the Turkish coast and further to European markets. The Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline envisions an undersea connection between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan bypassing Russia and Iran, with a capacity of 10–30 billion cubic meters depending on scale. The Iraq “Basra–Haditha” oil pipeline could reach 2.5 million barrels per day, while Syria’s oil transport network is being considered as an additional route for crude oil to Turkey with a potential capacity of up to 45,000 barrels per day. Separately, a high-voltage direct current power line between Saudi Arabia and Turkey is being discussed to integrate the two regions’ electricity systems, including potential transmission of renewable energy.
Ankara is deliberately building its role as an intermediary between resource-rich regions and European consumers. The military fuel pipeline strengthens its position in NATO not just as an ally with voting rights, but as an operationally important link. At the same time, the broader energy roadmap reflects the country’s ambition to become an infrastructure hub connecting the resource regions of the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Caspian basin with European markets.
