Turkey will be investing around TL 780 million (over $111 million) in the production and transmission infrastructure for the delivery of the natural gas that the country discovered in the Black Sea, according to information compiled from the environmental impact assessment (EIA) application report for the three-phased integrated project.
The country looks to build a subsea gas production facility and a 155-kilometer (34 miles) pipeline connecting to an onshore gas processing facility in Filyos in northern Turkey's Zonguldak province.
Turkey's first drilling ship, Fatih, made the country's largest-ever gas discovery last year after it found 405 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas at the Tuna-1 location in the Sakarya gas field, located about 100 nautical miles north of the Turkish Black Sea coast.
The vessel continues its drilling operations in the region after completing its activities at the Türkali-1 well in the Sakarya gas field last month.
The drillship is currently working on the second well, the Türkali-2, at depths over 3,000 meters (9,843 feet).
The first section of the project, which constitutes the subsea gas production facility, will be built in Turkey's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Black Sea, Anadolu Agency (AA) cited the EIA report Friday.
The second section comprises the subsea natural gas pipeline that will be laid 2.2 kilometers below sea level connecting to the third section – the gas processing facility located in the Filyos Industrial Zone.
Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), the national oil and gas company and project operator, will allocate a significant part of the Filyos Industrial Zone to this new facility.
TPAO was recently reported to have also been considering partnership and gathering funds to carry out work on the Black Sea gas. The company is said to have made preliminary contact with several international oil companies, including some of the major ones, to jointly produce gas.
Engineering studies are currently ongoing to bring the gas ashore after production starts, and Turkey is determined to connect the gas to the country's transmission system by 2023.
Around 2,000 people are expected to be employed to bring Sakarya gas to the mainland.
The new subsea facility and pipeline, which will have a 40-year lifespan, will be operated remotely without staff.
In the first phase of the project, starting from the first quarter of 2023, a total of 10 million cubic meters (mcm) of natural gas per day will be produced from six to 10 wells at the Sakarya gas field.
The production volume will be transferred via pipeline to Filyos where it will be processed, ensuring its gas pressure level conforms with that of Turkey's Petroleum Pipeline Company (BOTAŞ). BOTAŞ will then distribute the gas to its end users.
The facility will process around 3.5 bcm of natural gas from the Sakarya field annually to help meet Turkey's natural gas consumption of 50 bcm per year.
Total daily field production from around 30 to 40 wells will reach 40 mcm during the second phase of the project from 2023 onward.
The year 2028 will see the field entering its plateau phase when Turkey's natural gas production will reach almost 15 bcm annually. This will allow the country to meet a substantial amount of its gas needs.
Currently, Turkey imports almost all its gas needs, mainly from Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, and via liquefied natural gas (LNG) from multiple sources.