President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Turkey discovered 135 billion cubic meters of additional natural gas in the southern part of the Black Sea, bringing the total explored reserves in the region to 540 billion cubic meters.
Last year, the Turkish drilling Fatih discovered 405 billion cubic meters of natural gas from the Sakarya field in the western part of the Black Sea, which is the country’s largest discovery.
“Our drilling ship Fatih has discovered 135 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the Amasra-1 well in the Sakarya gas field,” Erdogan said at the opening ceremony of a port and distribution center in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak. “Our new drilling works around [скважины] continue, God forbid, we expect new good news from this region, ”he added.
Turkey is using two of the three drilling vessels to accelerate the development of the field. In a sign that reserves will increase with each drilling, Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said last month that one drill vessel will open new test wells to more accurately estimate reserves, and the other will report more accurate production levels.
Ankara intends to pump gas from the Sakarya field to its main network in 2023, with stable production on the plateau starting in 2027 or 2028. According to Donmez, the field will reach full production following a 4-stage development plan.
To connect new wells in the region to the main network, a pipeline with a length of at least 160 km will be required, and Ankara will need to build a receiving station within two years, in accordance with its schedule.
Turkey, which is low on oil and gas, is heavily dependent on gas imports from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, as well as on LNG imports from Qatar, the United States, Nigeria and Algeria. Last year, it imported 48.1 billion cubic meters of gas, which is 6% more than a year earlier, a third was from Russia.
Turkey is also involved in hydrocarbon exploration in the Mediterranean, where its operations in disputed waters are fueling tensions with Greece and Cyprus.
[Reuters]
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