The volume of daily natural gas production in the Sakarya gas field on the Black Sea has reached 6 million cubic meters (million m³), Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Saturday.
Speaking at the meeting of the advisory board of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Zonguldak province, Bayraktar discussed the progress made in the energy sector in recent years, exploration in the Black Sea region and the national energy and mining strategy.
In order to curb energy dependence, Turkey has increased its gas and oil exploration, particularly through the national strategy that came into force in 2016, the minister recalled.
“We have already conducted exploration in the Black Sea in the past. We have conducted six deep-sea drillings in the Black Sea. We said, ‘This time we will search for oil and natural gas with our own ships, our own engineers, our own technicians, our own people and our own youth,'” he noted.
“Turkey currently has one of the most modern fleets in the world, with four deep-sea drilling vessels – Fatih, Yavuz, Kanuni and Abdülhamid Han – and two seismic vessels. In addition, 31 vessels are currently continuing their activities related to this work in Filyos,” said Bayraktar.
The Sakarya gas field off the northwestern province of Zonguldak contains an estimated 710 billion cubic meters of gas. The reserve was gradually discovered in August 2020.
Lifting capacity
Reminding that almost two and a half to three years after the good news of the discovery of the gas field, the landing of gas began on August 21, 2020, the minister said, “To date, we have produced a gas volume of 6 million cubic meters per day in the Sakarya Black Sea Gas Field.”
Current production meets the needs of 2.6 million households, he added.
“Hopefully we will increase this 6 million cubic metres to 10 million cubic metres in the first phase by April, in the first quarter of 2025,” he said.
Production will initially be increased to 10 million cubic metres and will reach 40 million cubic metres in the final phase. This will be enough to supply up to 15 million households.
In addition, Bayraktar mentioned that the new floating platform, the acquisition of which was announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan a few weeks ago, is on its way to Turkey, adding that it forms a “naval base”.
“Our new floating production platform is currently underway. If all goes well, it will arrive in Turkey at the end of September and in Filyos in the first half of 2025,” he explained.
“With this production plant, we will produce 10 million cubic metres of gas per day for 20 years at a location 170 kilometres from the coast and hopefully supply our homes and businesses with this gas.”
Bayraktar pointed to the steps Turkey has taken to reduce foreign dependence in the defense industry and also announced the goal of reducing this dependence in the energy sector as well.
“With its dams, hydroelectric power plants and nuclear power plants, Turkey will soon be a country that secures its own energy supply and reduces its dependence on foreign energy,” the minister said.
Bayraktar stated that natural gas studies in Filyos would continue for 20 to 25 years, but said that the Sakarya gas field alone was not enough and that this production needed to be increased.
“Therefore, God willing, Turkey will continue to carry out various operations, various research works and studies in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, Somalia, Libya and many other countries from now on.”
In addition, all these studies are not limited to the field of natural gas, the minister said, also mentioning oil production. While Turkey produced a total of around 36,000 barrels of oil per day eight years ago, Bayraktar noted that production from the Gabar field is currently only around 47,000 barrels.
“Hopefully we can increase the amount to 100,000 barrels,” he said.
“With the drilling we will do in Hakkari and Van, the work we have already done and the new work we will do in the Black Sea, we will both increase existing reserves and, with new incentives, hopefully reduce our dependence on foreign oil and natural gas sources,” the minister concluded.
