Energy and Natural Resources Minister Ali Rıza Alaboyun said Turkey's drilling operations have gone deeper this year than in any other year in history. "After some research, between 2003 and 2015, Turkey has mined natural gas equivalent to 3.56 million tons of raw oil and 29.2 million tons of raw oil. Also, the producible reserve reached 42.6 million by the end of 2014."

Speaking to Anadolu Agency about Turkey's drilling operations, Alaboyun said Turkey has been increasingly focusing on drilling operations, underlining that between 2003 and 2015, 1,048 wells have been opened. Furthermore, he stressed that in the same period Turkey carried out drilling operations cumulatively drilling down to 1,868,778 meters. Alaboyun said, "Turkey has drilled down to the deepest distances ever. Apart from raw oil, between 2003 and 2015, Turkey obtained 3.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas as an outcome of the drilling operations. Thereby, the total reserve for producible natural gas reached 5 billion cubic meters."

Moreover, Alaboyun said this month 3,185 wells were opened, 72 percent of which are in southern Anatolia, 21 percent of which is in eastern Thrace and 7 percent of which is in other regions of the country. Emphasizing that compared to 2002, the investments made in natural gas and oil increased 10 fold and within 13 years investments of $13.3 billion dollars made, Alaboyun said "within the same period, revenues of $22.2 billion were obtained. The contribution of the Turkish Petroleum Corporation to the state is $10.5 billion."