President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday said Türkiye has proven to be a reliable energy transit partner and key actor for peace, stressing that its infrastructure has strengthened its role in regional stability.

Türkiye is determined to advance energy diplomacy alongside its broader peace efforts, Erdoğan told the second edition of the Istanbul Natural Resources Summit.

The event was organized in cooperation between Turkuvaz Media, Türkiye's leading media group and Daily Sabah's parent company, and the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry.

Erdoğan pointed to the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war and the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict, saying recent crises triggered severe volatility in energy prices and raised concerns over global supply security.

The Iran war has triggered what is being described as the largest ever energy crisis because of the near-closure of ​the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has established de facto control over the waterway, a chokepoint for about a ⁠fifth of the world's oil supply. The resulting surge in energy prices has pushed inflation higher and fanned fears ​of an economic downturn.

Erdoğan said the conflicts had demonstrated Türkiye's indispensable role in secure energy supply and further strengthened its strategic importance.

"Türkiye is the strongest bridge, transit and junction point between geographies with rich energy resources and countries that need them," he noted.

'Changed paradigm in energy'

Heavily dependent on energy imports to meet its needs, Türkiye has been vastly investing to achieve "full energy independence" through expanded domestic oil and natural gas production, renewable energy investments and international energy partnerships.

Türkiye currently receives natural gas through five pipelines, including two from Russia, two from Azerbaijan and one from Iran, while also diversifying supplies through liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure.

"Türkiye now has a massive energy infrastructure that procures natural gas from more than 50 companies across 39 countries," Erdoğan said.

He added that Türkiye plans to raise its daily LNG regasification capacity from 161 million cubic meters to 200 million cubic meters through new investments.

Erdoğan said the government fundamentally transformed the country's energy strategy over the past decade through large-scale investments in exploration, storage and transmission infrastructure.

"We changed the paradigm in energy," he said. "With the motto 'Only those who search can find,' we made major investments in this field over the last 10 years."

Black Sea gas production to double in 2026

Erdoğan highlighted Türkiye's gas production in the Sakarya field in the Black Sea, the largest natural gas discovery in the country's history.

Daily production from the field has reached 9.5 million cubic meters, enough to supply millions of households.

The output is expected to increase to 20 million cubic meters per day in 2026 with the commissioning of Türkiye's first floating gas production platform, Osman Gazi, Erdoğan said.

"Thus, we will be able to meet the energy needs of 8 million households from the Black Sea," he noted.

The president said a third production phase planned for 2028 would increase output to 45 million cubic meters per day, supplying up to 17 million households with domestically produced natural gas.

Domestic oil production

Erdoğan also emphasized the growing importance of the Gabar field in southeastern Türkiye, saying it now accounts for 44% of the country's domestic oil production.

He described the discovery as the largest oil find in the republic's history and said the region, once associated with security concerns and terrorism, is now seeing increased investment, tourism and employment.

Following the Gabar discovery, Erdoğan said authorities identified four additional exploration areas in Diyarbakır province and plan to drill 24 wells over the next three years.

Türkiye aims to transform its state energy company into a producer of 1 million barrels of oil and natural gas per day through expanded domestic and international exploration efforts, he added.

Overseas energy partnerships expand

Erdoğan said Türkiye is also strengthening its global energy diplomacy through partnerships in Somalia, Pakistan, Libya and Central Asia.

He described offshore drilling operations in Somalia as Türkiye's first deep-sea exploration project abroad and said operations are expected to be completed within six to nine months, depending on weather conditions.

"Our hope is to deliver good news to the brotherly Somali people, who have struggled with instability and famine for many years," Erdoğan said.

He added that Türkiye is also working with the Syrian government on joint projects in the oil and mining sectors, saying regional normalization could create further cooperation opportunities.

Renewables, nuclear and critical minerals

Erdoğan said Türkiye continues to expand investments in renewable energy and nuclear power alongside fossil fuel production.

He noted that the country has become the world leader in boron reserves and said rare earth element discoveries in central Eskişehir's Beylikova district could elevate Türkiye into a major global player in critical minerals.

The president also highlighted lithium carbonate production efforts in Eskişehir's Kırka region and ongoing work to establish an industrial-scale facility with an annual capacity of 600 tons.

Erdoğan said the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant marked a turning point for Türkiye's nuclear ambitions, while investments in solar, wind and hydroelectric energy represented some of the largest clean-energy projects in the country's history.

"Türkiye is not a spectator in this race; it aims to become a game changer," he said.

He reiterated that achieving full energy independence remains one of Türkiye's strategic priorities.

Importance of energy security

Also addressing the event, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said that the recent Iran-centered conflict once again demonstrated the importance of energy security and revealed how fragile the global economy can be.

Bayraktar said that in an era marked by wars and major economic upheavals, and the entry into the age of artificial intelligence and a succession of major technological advancements, "the world is undergoing a critical energy transition."

"The recent war centered around Iran has once again demonstrated the importance of energy security and how fragile the global economy can be in this regard," Bayraktar said.

Moreover, he underscored that Türkiye has emerged as one of the best-prepared countries to withstand the crisis.

"Since 2002, thanks to the strong political will you have demonstrated and the policies we have implemented under your leadership, Türkiye has become one of the countries that faced this crisis in the most prepared and resilient manner," he further said, referring to President Erdoğan.

Moreover, he suggested that the National Energy and Mining Policy "became the main road map for our vision of a 'Fully Independent Türkiye in Energy and Mining.'"

Also noting that Türkiye possesses one of the world's largest deep-sea drilling fleets and is conducting oil and gas exploration both domestically and abroad, Bayraktar said, "We explored areas on land that had never been visited before, carried out seismic surveys and drilling operations, and continue to do so."

In line with this, he also recalled historic discoveries in the Sakarya and Gabar regions, referring to vast gas and oil reserves on the country's northern coast and in Şırnak province.

Referring to the energy transition and technological shifts, he said that as Türkiye, "we are also preparing a new energy architecture for our country in this new era."

More infrastructure projects

"Our primary goal here is to position Türkiye as a central nation that has ended its dependence on foreign energy, strengthened its energy security and enhanced regional integration," he added.

He added that under the new energy architecture, Türkiye plans to maximize the capacity of strategically important oil and natural gas pipelines such as TANAP, TurkStream, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline and the Iraq-Türkiye Crude Oil Pipeline, all of which play key roles in the energy supply security of both Türkiye and the wider region.

"We will strengthen our energy ties by developing additional infrastructure projects with neighboring and regional countries in oil, natural gas and electricity under a win-win approach," he said.

"Extending the Iraq-Türkiye Oil Pipeline to Basra and transporting Turkmenistan's natural gas to Türkiye and Europe via the Trans-Caspian Natural Gas Pipeline will be among the key priorities of this new era," he maintained

Türkiye is also aiming for multi-faceted integration in the electricity sector, Bayraktar said.

"Through the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Türkiye-Bulgaria Green Electricity Transmission Agreement we signed in Baku last year, we aim to deliver renewable energy generated in Azerbaijan to Europe," he explained.

He noted that the country is also working on a mega power transmission line that will stretch from Saudi Arabia to Türkiye and integrate with neighboring countries in the region. "We believe this will serve as an alternative energy corridor for both our country and Europe."

Türkiye's new energy architecture will feature greater connectivity and more infrastructure projects, he added.

"By developing our liquefied natural gas infrastructure, we will be able to supply higher volumes of LNG to Southeast Europe and our other neighbors," he said.

Nuclear energy 'not a choice, but a necessity'

Highlighting the growing role of electricity, Bayraktar said: "Electricity lies at the center of our new energy architecture."

"Therefore, we will raise our renewable energy targets even higher. In this context, we foresee a total investment of $30 billion for a strong grid infrastructure required by our advanced renewable energy portfolio."

He also said Türkiye views nuclear energy, with its baseload generation capability, as "not a choice, but a necessity" for supply security.

"The process that began with the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant will open the door to the nuclear era in Türkiye's energy history," the minister said.

Bayraktar also emphasized Türkiye's goal of becoming "a manufacturing hub" during the energy transition process.

"For this reason, we attach great importance to investments in rare earth elements and critical minerals. We aim to increase investments in R&D and technology while supporting the development of the domestic industry," he said.

Noting that rare earth elements form the backbone of many strategic sectors ranging from energy technologies and battery systems to electric vehicles and the defense industry, Bayraktar said the foundation of an industrial facility at the pilot rare earth elements site in Beylikova would soon be laid.

He added that Türkiye views energy not only as a driver of economic growth, but also as a key to regional peace, stability and shared prosperity.