Türkiye's top energy official pledged on Saturday that domestic natural gas would be delivered to all households in the country by 2028, highlighting the goal of energy independence.
"Thank God, our production is increasing every day. God willing, by 2028, we will use our own natural gas in 20 million households in Türkiye. Our goal is to make our country independent in energy under the leadership of our president in the 'Century of Türkiye,'" Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said.
Speaking in the central Sivas province, Bayraktar touched upon the path of expansion in natural gas supply to the households in the country, citing that 85% of the population had gas access at the time.
Furthermore, he also recalled the energy and mining strategy that was put in place back in 2016 and the push to boost domestic production.
"In 2016, with the national energy and mining policy, we said, 'As Türkiye, we will produce it ourselves. If it exists, we will search for it, find it, and when we find it, we will extract it from underground and bring this natural gas to our homes and industry'," Bayraktar said.
He also stressed the importance of acquiring the ships for exploration, recalling that the largest natural gas discovery in the history of the republic was made in August 2020 in the Sakarya Gas Field.
Suggesting that it's one challenge to discover the gas and another to extract it, the minister explained that the gas is being extracted from 170 kilometers (105.63 miles) away from the land.
"We extract natural gas from 170 kilometers away from the land. The depth of the sea is 2 kilometers, we drill 2,000-3,000 meters (6,560-9,840 feet) more after the seabed and extract the gas there, transport it through 170 kilometers of pipes," he explained, comparing it to the distance between capital Ankara and the city of Bolu.
“We are now providing our own natural gas to 3 million households with the natural gas we produce ourselves. By 2028, we will be using our own natural gas in 20 million households in all of Türkiye,” he said.
"In Şırnak, Gabar, which was once associated with terrorism, we have become the producer of Türkiye's highest quality oil, exceeding 71,000 barrels per day," he further said.
"Our sole aim is to make our country independent in energy and to keep the foreign currency we pay abroad for energy, at home. We want to meet our energy needs with our own resources," the minister noted.
