President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said late on Tuesday he would announce “good news” regarding natural gas reserves in the Black Sea on Friday.
In one of the world’s biggest finds last year, Turkey said it discovered 405 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas in the Black Sea’s Sakarya field, about 100 nautical miles north of the Turkish coast.
Speaking at an interview on state broadcaster TRT Haber, Erdoğan said he would make the announcement during an opening ceremony in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak, where he said he will have a video link with Turkey’s Kanuni drillship.
The president last month hinted at a new discovery and said the public should not be surprised if they announce a new find soon.
“We are getting good news, and with these, do not be surprised if you get news on an oil or natural gas (discovery) soon,” Erdoğan said.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez last week also triggered prospects the country could be announcing a new gas discovery in the Black Sea.
“Let us wait for June for the update. The works will be completed in June,” Dönmez said.
Engineering studies are ongoing to bring the Black Sea gas ashore. Turkey is determined to connect the gas to the nation’s transmission system by 2023.
The first gas flow from the field is expected in 2023, with an envisaged annual gas flow of 5-10 bcm.
The field is expected to gradually increase to reach a production plateau of around 15 bcm as of 2025, which is sufficient to meet 30% of the nation’s annual gas demand.
The gas reserve is expected to lessen the country’s dependence on Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan for energy imports.
Turkey meets most of its natural gas needs through imports. The discovery is expected to significantly slash the import bill, which totals around $12 billion (TL 103.41 billion) annually.
The country imported 48.1 bcm of natural gas last year.
Before the discovery, Turkey's natural gas reserves stood at around 3.3 bcm, mostly on onshore fields.
Meanwhile, Erdoğan last week also announced that Turkey discovered oil in three new onshore wells over the last month.
The oil has been found at two wells in the southeastern Diyarbakır province and at a third site in the northwestern province of Kırklareli.
The find will add 6,800 barrels of oil to the nation’s daily output, which is estimated to reach above 61,000 barrels of oil.
Some 2,800 and 3,000 barrels of oil will be produced daily from Akoba-1 and Yenişehir-1 wells in Diyarbakır and 1,000 barrels of oil from the Misinli-2 well in Kırklareli, Dönmez has said.
