State energy company Turkish Petroleum Corporation's (TPAO) offshore subsidiary has signed a $1.5 billion agreement that will see Italian engineering group Saipem continue the development of Turkey's largest offshore natural gas field, the company said on Wednesday.
The contract, awarded by the Turkish Petroleum Offshore Technology Center (TP-OTC), covers the third phase of a project to develop the Sakarya Gas Field, focusing on the construction of a floating production unit and a new trunkline connecting it to an onshore facility on the mainland.
Discovered between 2020 and 2022, Sakarya is located approximately 170 kilometers off the coast of Filyos in Zonguldak. The field is estimated to hold 710 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas and is expected to meet around 30% of the country's annual consumption once full production capacity is reached.
In May, Türkiye announced the discovery of an additional 75 bcm of gas in the Black Sea, which reinforces its strategic push to reduce reliance on imported energy.
Saipem has already been involved in Sakarya's first and second phases of development.
The first phase saw the daily output reach 9.5 million cubic meters (mcm), enough to supply roughly 4 million households. The gas is fed into the national grid through a pipeline linked to an onshore processing facility.
The second phase aims to double production to 20 mcm per day, supported by a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) platform acquired in 2023 and slated to become operational next year.
That is expected to be doubled and reach 40 million cubic meters daily by 2028.
The third phase will introduce a dedicated floating production unit (FPU), fed by 27 wells across the Sakarya and Amasra fields. These will be linked via a new trunkline to the onshore processing facility in Filyos.
According to Saipem, the scope of work includes engineering, procurement, construction and installation of eight rigid flowlines and a 24-inch gas export pipeline stretching approximately 183 kilometers (113.71 miles). The pipeline will connect the offshore field, located at depths of up to 2,200 meters (7,217.85 feet), to the mainland.
The contract is expected to span three years, with offshore operations scheduled for 2027, to be carried out by Saipem's Castorone pipelay vessel.
