Turkey has found more natural gas in the Black Sea, Erdogan says Oil and gas news

The natural gas discoveries are expected to allow Turkey to import cheap gas and reduce its average annual energy bill, which is about $ 44 billion.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that new natural gas fields have been discovered in the Black Sea, with Turkey planning to start production in 2023.

The state-owned energy company Tpao found 135 billion cubic meters of gas in the Amasra-1 offshore well, and the number of deposits found last year reached 540 billion cubic meters, Erdogan said in a televised statement from the city’s Black Sea Zongulda.

Authorities have not conducted an independent audit of the total and recoverable gas at the Sakarya area. Officials have said Tpao intends to develop the deposits on its own, and will not need foreign funding.

Turkey has stepped up its oil and gas exploration on its coasts in recent years. Erdogan has released the latest energy discoveries as a solution to some of Turkey’s long-term economic weaknesses, including a bill to import energy to be paid in foreign currency.

Turkish explorers last year discovered 405 billion cubic meters of gas in the nearby Tuna-1 well in the nearby Sakarya area, the largest discovery ever in the Black Sea.

Turkey currently imports almost all of the 50 billion cubic meters of gas it consumes every year. Officials expect domestic production to increase national gas demand by 60% by 2030 billion cubic meters by 2030.

The findings are also expected to allow Turkey to import cheap gas and reduce its average annual energy bill by about $ 44 billion.