Turkey has found significant gas resources in the Black Sea, a discovery that will help the country cut its dependence on energy imports once the gas is commercially extracted.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had hinted at the “good news” in a meeting with energy executives on Wednesday, announced on Friday that drilling ship Fatih hit natural gas in the Black Sea with an initial estimated reserve of 320 billion cubic metres.
Turkey wants to begin using the gas reserves by 2023 and data shows a strong possibility of other natural gas finds in the Black Sea, Erdogan said from Istanbul’s iconic Dolmabache Palace.
“We hope to see similar good news in the Mediterranean as well, we will accelerate our operations there … and continue our drilling activities,” he said.
Turkey’s drilling ship Fatih has been operating since late July in an exploration zone known as Tuna-1, about 100 nautical miles north of the Turkish coast in the western Black Sea.
