Türkiye's daily natural gas production at its flagship Sakarya field in the Black Sea has reached around 9.5 million cubic metres (mcm), Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said in remarks shared on Monday as the country continues to ramp up its energy ambitions both at home and abroad.
Once again, he reiterated the goal of curbing imports, emphasizing the focus on boosting domestic production.
"(The production) in Gabar in Türkiye has reached 80,000 barrels. Our domestic production in Türkiye has exceeded 130,000 barrels. The first phase of the Sakarya Gas Field has been completed. We continue the production of the second phase with a daily production of approximately 9.5 million cubic meters – that is, the activities of the production phase that will double this," Bayraktar told reporters in the northern province of Giresun.
"The first phase of the Sakarya Gas Field has been completed. Daily production of 9.5 million cubic meters, local and national energy for over 4 million households!," he said separately in a post on X. "We are moving forward with determination for an energy independent Türkiye," he added.
"In addition to the Gabar and Sakarya Gas Field, we also continue our work on new fields, that is, exploration-related work. Therefore, on the one hand, we want to increase production and on the other hand, we want to add the new reserves we find with new explorations to our production reserves," the minister said in his remarks to the media.
Bayraktar also mentioned that Türkiye aims to finalize an agreement next month, allowing the state energy firm, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) and a foreign partner to explore a Black Sea block off the coast of neighboring Bulgaria.
"We are about to conclude an agreement in the Bulgarian economic zone. Most likely next month, TPAO and a foreign company will sign a deal for a block in Bulgarian waters," he said.
"Likewise, we signed a strategic partnership agreement with the Hungarian company MOL, both in Hungary and abroad," he added.
The new Sakarya field accounted for approximately 6.6% of Türkiye's 53 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas consumption last year, according to Reuters calculations.
Türkiye, which has intensified its efforts for exploration and production, still predominantly relies on imports to meet its energy needs and is striving to reduce its import bill and enhance supply security by developing domestic resources and expanding international partnerships in oil and gas exploration.
Bayraktar said Türkiye was interested in two new offshore fields in the Caspian Sea region, including Azerbaijan, and in new fields in both northern and southern Iraq.
In Somalia, where it recently signed an oil and gas exploration deal, seismic data collection is expected to conclude by the end of May, with a decision on drilling likely by year-end.
Türkiye has also added three onshore blocks to its offshore licences in the Horn of Africa nation, Bayraktar said.
"Somalia's offshore seismic survey will be completed around the end of May. By the end of the year, we will make our decision on drilling," he said.
TPAO has also signed agreements with Pakistani companies to bid for offshore exploration licenses in Pakistan jointly. Ankara is seeking to establish partnerships to develop oil and gas fields in Turkmenistan, from which it has recently begun importing natural gas.
