Turkey plans to increase its own oil production to 1 million barrels per day in the long term. The interim goal is to reach 550,000 barrels per day by 2028, announced Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar.
“Our goal is to reach 1 million barrels per day”, Bayraktar said during a ceremony at Filyos port in Zonguldak. From there, Turkey's first floating production platform “Osman Gazi” was sent to the Sakarya gas field in the Black Sea.
According to the minister, Turkey's state-owned oil company TPAO has roughly doubled its production in the past five years and is now producing about 300,000 barrels of oil per day. According to Bayraktar, energy security is becoming a matter of national security, which requires both the development of local resources and the expansion of activities abroad.
Turkey explores deposits in eight countries
Turkey is conducting oil and natural gas exploration in Iraq, Azerbaijan, Somalia, Pakistan, Hungary, Bulgaria, Oman and Libya. Bayraktar indicated that Ankara continues the activity with its own ships, engineers, technical specialists and equipment.
The Turkish energy fleet has six deep-sea drilling vessels and two seismic survey vessels. In addition to the Black Sea, Turkey is also developing exploration activities off the coast of Somalia. Oil is already being extracted in the Gabar region of southeastern Turkey, and the Sakarya field is among the main natural gas extraction projects.
TPAO has a 33% stake in the “Han Tervel“ block
In Bulgaria, the Turkish company has a 33% stake in the oil and natural gas exploration license in the “1-26 Han Tervel“ Black Sea block. Shell is the operator with 42%, and OMV Petrom owns 25%. The partnership structure was confirmed by the Turkish Ministry of Energy and OMV Petrom.
The block covers approximately 4,000 square kilometers in the Bulgarian exclusive economic zone and is located south of “Han Asparuh“. The first stage involves seismic surveys that should provide information about the geological structure under the seabed. If the results are favorable, an exploratory drilling may be carried out.
There is currently no confirmed commercial field in “Han Tervel“ and no production has started. TPAO's participation means that the company is part of the exploration consortium, but does not prove the existence of economically viable deposits.
“Osman Gazi“ sails for Sakarya
The floating platform “Osman Gazi“ is designed to participate in the development of gas resources in the Sakarya field. Bayraktar thanked the engineers, technical teams and approximately 7,000 workers who participated in the project.
The dispatch of the platform is part of Ankara's strategy to develop its own deep-sea exploration and production capacity. For Bulgaria, the specific outcome of this strategy will depend on seismic surveys and possible drilling in “Khan Tervel“.