Turkey announces $30-billion Black Sea discovery

Turkey has made what is being called a “significant” discovery of a natural gas in the Black Sea, valued at approximately $30 billion.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the new field, discovered by the Goktepe-3 well, contains 75 billion cubic meters of gas, enough to meet the residential needs of the country for about 3.5 years. 

The Goktepe-3 well is located some 69 kilometers from Turkey’s Sakarya gas field. The drilling was conducted by the Abdülhamid Han, one of Turkey’s advanced drilling ships, at a depth of 3,500 meters, or nearly 11,500 feet of water.

Reports indicate that the Turkish government is looking to develop the field through a new floating production platform. 

The announcement was made during Erdogan’s speech in Istanbul on May 17, after 50 days of drilling by the Abdülhamid Han drillship, which had begun operations on March 27. 

Erdogan emphasized that the discovery is a crucial step towards achieving energy independence for Turkey, which currently imports over 90% of its energy needs. 

Turkey consumes more than 50 billion cubic meters of gas per year, relying on a mix of piped gas from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, along with liquefied natural gas imports from various suppliers.

Turkey is looking to boost its domestic production with a goal of reaching 20 million cubic meters produced daily by 2026. 

The country is now producing some 9.5 million cubic meters of natural gas per day at its flagship Sakarya field in the Black Sea.