Turkiye sees signs of oil, natural gas in eastern Black Sea, report says

Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez speaks during the Turkiye’s first Nuclear Power Plant Akkuyu (NPP) first nuclear fuel delivery ceremony in Mersin, Turkiye on April 27, 2023 [Aytaç Ünal – Anadolu Agency]

Turkiye is seeing indications of oil and natural gas reserves in the eastern Black Sea, the Energy Minister said Tuesday, local Turkish media reports.

According to the report, ramped-up hydrocarbon explorations in the Black Sea have been part of Turkiye’s proactive approach to fully assess the region’s potential to secure domestic resources to curb its major dependence on external resources.

“We have $500 billion worth of gas. There was abnormal pricing and that is why this figure was estimated at $1 trillion last year,” Donmez told an interview with the private broadcaster, CNN Turk.

Turkiye, this April, started pumping natural gas into the national grid from a vast reserve in the Black Sea, discovered gradually since August 2020.

The reserve is estimated to hold over 710 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas, which is promising to curb the country’s dependence and cut consumer energy prices.

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