Turkey discovers historic natural gas reserves off Black Sea

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced a historic discovery of gas reserves in the Black Sea near the Turkish coast, days after he promised good news that would usher in a new era for the energy dependent country.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the historic Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul said, “Turkey has made the biggest natural gas discovery in the Black Sea,” adding that the amount of gas discovered is 320 billion cubic meters.

“The vessel made the discovery in the Tuna-1 field off the coast of Eregli town in the northern province of Zonguldak after beginning the search on July 20,” Erdogan informed.

The Turkish president expressed hope that the country will start extracting and using the gas by 2023. “The reserves found in this first well are only part of much richer resources,” Erdogan said.

If confirmed as recoverable resources, the reserves could ease the country’s dependence on costly energy imports and could ease the financial market jitters. The Turkish drilling ship, Fatih, had been carrying out exploration operations in the Tuna-1 sector in the western Black Sea for the past month.

“We have carried out nine deep-sea drillings in the Mediterranean and Black Sea through our Fatih and Yavuz ships so far. There is no stopping and resting until we become a net exporter in energy,” he added.   

The Fatih, Turkey’s first drilling vessel, is named after Fatih Sultan Mehmet, the Ottoman Sultan who conquered Constantinople — current-day Istanbul — in 1453.