New era to begin in natural gas and oil, says energy minister

ANKARA

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has said that a new era in oil and natural gas will begin, adding that Türkiye will be more active in hydrocarbon operations abroad. 

"In the upcoming period, we may change our strategy. We aim to open a new era in oil and gas exploration in Türkiye," Bayraktar told daily Hürriyet.

The flow of Turkmen gas will commence on March 1, the minister recalled, adding that: “We have a long-term swap agreement target. This year, we are likely working on a program to extend the five-year swap agreement."

According to the swap agreement, the Turkmen gas will be delivered via Iran and 1.3 billion cubic meters of gas will be delivered this year, Bayraktar noted.

Türkiye’s total consumption is 53 billion cubic meters and the Turkmen gas to be received this year is enough to supply around 1.5 million households, he added.

“We aim to sign a long-term swap agreement. This year, we are likely working on a program to extend the five-year swap agreement. Ideally, our main goal is to bring Turkmen gas to Türkiye through a Caspian-transit pipeline as was initially planned,” Bayraktar said.

The daily natural gas production at the Black Sea is currently 7 million cubic meters, which meets the consumption of around 3 million households, according to the minister.

Production from the Black Sea field will increase to 9.5 million cubic meters at Eid al-Fitr (which starts on March 30), he noted.

“Daily gas production will double by the third quarter of 2026 to 20 million cubic meters. Therefore, we will be able to supply 7.5 billion cubic meters of gas annually, which means covering 15 percent of our consumption with our own gas,” Bayraktar said.

The target in the Gabar oil field is a daily production of 100,000 barrels, he said, adding that 153 exploration wells will be drilled in Gabar this year.

Türkiye will be “more active” in natural gas and oil operations abroad, Bayraktar also said.

Türkiye has engaged in a collaborative project in Libya and is exploring opportunities in Azerbaijan across two fields, he noted. 

Additionally, the country is showing interest in fields, both on land and in the Caspian Sea in Turkmenistan, according to the minister.

“We have licenses for three sea blocks in Somalia. On March 1, we will sign deals for new fields on land in Somalia,” Bayraktar said.

As for the efforts to help Syria in the energy sector, Bayraktar noted that four teams from Türkiye have already gone to Syria and some concrete steps have been taken.

There is an increase in the amount of electricity exported to Northern Syria, which is around 210 megawatts, he said. 

“The next step is to increase this through the existing lines. The second is to revive the Çobanbey-Aleppo line and start an additional 500 megawatts to Aleppo in the next five to six months. The third is the export of natural gas to Aleppo,” he added.