NewsRescue
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Tuesday that an oilfield with a capacity of 100,000 barrels per day had been discovered in Türkiye. According to TASS, the discovery could help the country become more energy independent.
Erdogan stated that the new resources were discovered near an existing oilfield in the Gabar Mountain area of Turkey’s southeast Sirnak Province, and that the Gabar field is capable of producing more oil than any other field in the country.
“Turkey will no longer be a country that requires energy imports.” He declared, “We will become a state capable of supplying energy resources.” According to Turkey’s president, crude from the new field is already reaching oil refineries.
Turkey seeks energy independence and a diversification away from imports, which account for nearly all of its domestic consumption. The country is currently heavily dependant on oil and gas supplies from Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Nigeria, and Algeria, as well as LNG imports from Qatar and the United States.
Erdogan announced the finding of an oilfield in Sirnak Province in December, with an estimated reserve of 150 million barrels and a value of $12 billion.
Turkey’s oil and gas ambitions have grown significantly in the last year. In January, the government signed a long-term agreement with Bulgaria, granting the Balkan country access to Turkish LNG installations.
Ankara raised its assessment of the country’s Black Sea natural gas reserves in January. At the time, Energy Minister Fatih Donmez stated that existing proved deposits will supply domestic demand for the next 30 years, with additional discoveries in the Black Sea extending this self-sufficiency in terms of gas supplies even further.
