Turkey going nuclear: is it wise after what happened in Japan?

I have just stumbled into this article:

Turkey reportedly plans to decide as early as this month the winner of a nuclear power plant tender. Japan had been seen ahead of its rival South Korea in the race.
As Turkey is also prone to earthquakes, the Japanese government and companies made a strong appeal based on their own quake-resistance technology. Although South Korea had enjoyed an early lead in the bidding race, Japan reversed the tide by signing a document with Turkey in December to cooperate in the development of human resources and other areas for the construction of nuclear power plants in Turkey.
But Friday's earthquake likely will cast a shadow over Japan's bid to take part in the Turkey project, sources said.

So, Turkey is going nuclear. Is it wise, knowing what just happened in Japan, a conscientious and prepared country? Turkey is one of the most seismic places in the world. While right now in France - the second biggest nuclear country in the world after the US - the discussion on the safety of nuclear installations is raging, the European Parliament on March 9th released a not-so-flattering report about Turkey where, among other things, it "Considers it regrettable that no progress has been made on limiting the immunities of Members of Parliament in respect of corruption-related offences", which sounds creepy, considering the role corruption often plays in tenders attribution. Even more creepy is the fact that Turkey has a long tradition as terrorism-striken country.

Will the Japan tsunami sweep away Turkey's dreams of nuclear glory? Will the civil society react? Or will the Turkish government just go on with its projects - just as it is doing with the GAP project in Southern-Eastern Anatolia -, ignoring the dissenting voices inside and outside the country, in the name of energy leadership in the region?

We'll try to understand it next week, at the International Tourism and Media Conference in Bursa, where we are going to meet, among others, the Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız. Keep following us.

Turkey Bolsters Its Regional Energy Role

From Dar Al Hayat:

Three major projects to transport natural gas from the Middle East and the Caspian Sea via Turkey to Europe, and building two refineries for crude oil in the Turkish Mediterranean port of Gehan are currently in the study and design stage.

These projects are seen as a response to the US' insistence not to export oil and gas from the Caspian Sea area via Iran or Russia, and the decision by the EU to diversify sources of imported gas, particularly aimed at reducing dependence on Russian gas supplies.

Once executed, these projects, along with the (Kirkuk-Gehan) Iraqi oil pipeline, which has a capacity of 1.6 million barrels per day, will certainly allow Turkey - despite its low oil and gas production levels - to play a key role in the oil industry in the East Mediterranean area.

These three gas projects include the Trans Adriatic Pipeline to the south of Italy, near the Brindisi port, from where it will link with European gas network.

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French genocide bill prompts Turkey to suspend pipeline talks

From the International Herald Tribune:

ANKARA: Turkey has suspended talks with Gaz de France over a pipeline project that would bring Caspian natural gas to Europe in reaction to a French bill on the mass killings of Armenians during Ottoman rule, senior Turkish energy officials told Reuters on Thursday.

Nabucco is a 4.6-billion euro ($6.14 billion) project to transport natural gas from Turkey to Austria, passing through Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. The planned pipeline would reduce Europe's dependency on Russian gas.

France angered Ankara last year when its national assembly passed a bill making it a crime to deny that the mass killings of Armenians during the fall of the Ottoman Empire amounted to genocide.

"We will suspend partnership by Gaz de France until the French presidential elections. We will decide according to policies to be followed after the elections," a senior energy ministry official, who declined to be named, said.

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