Offshore staff
LONDON – Turkish state oil company TPAO has discovered another potentially giant gas deposit in the Black Sea.
The Amasra-1 well was spudded in April by the drillship Fatih in the Turkish sector. TPAO estimates in-place volumes at 135 bcm, lifting total gas discovered by the company in the Black Sea to 540 bcm following last year’s Sakarya discovery.
Ashley Sherman, principal analyst, Europe upstream at Wood Mackenzie, said: “It was always likely that Turkey’s Black Sea resource estimates would grow thanks to continued appraisal of the giant Sakarya discovery and new exploration wells by Turkey’s own drillships…
“Optimistically, if 100% were recovered, that’s equivalent to around 12 years of Turkey’s current, overwhelmingly import-dominated, gas demand.
“The strategic focus now needs to shift even more from adding resources to developing the volumes already discovered. That means consistent progress offshore – with wells and pipelines – and onshore at the gas plant site at Filyos.”
According to Sherman, TPAO’s exploration successes have also strengthened Turkey’s negotiating position concerning its gas imports from Azerbaijan, Iran, and Russia, giving the country greater leverage to push for lower prices, lower volumes, and improved contract flexibility.
“It’s already true in current talks with as close a partner as Azerbaijan, for a long-term contract that expired in April and is still yet to be renewed.”
06/07/2021
