Turkey's Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said in an interview with the Turkish state television “TRT Haber” that in 2026 the country will significantly increase its gas production and its goal is to double the production from its deposits in the Black Sea. He stressed that at the same time, Turkey will continue gas supplies from abroad, using the most suitable sources with the best prices, BTA reported.
The Energy Minister predicted that 2026 will be a turning point in terms of including the production from the country's own deposits in the gas transmission system. He announced that the first phase of gas drilling in the Turkish Black Sea waters has been completed.
“Our goal in this first phase is the extraction and processing of 10 million cubic meters of gas per day“, said the Energy Minister.
He specified that serious investments and technical capacity are needed to extract gas from the Black Sea due to the specifics of the field, but he defined this project as very important for the country and from a geostrategic point of view.
“In 2026, we will double our production and extraction capacity. That is, production from 10 million cubic meters per day will become 20 million cubic meters, and instead of the consumer needs of 4 million households, the consumer needs of 8 million will be covered. Thus, Black Sea gas will meet a very important part of the needs. In 2028, we plan to increase this capacity fourfold (from 10 to 40 million cubic meters of gas per day - ed. note). It is evident that in this way the needs of 16 or 17 million households will be met. This is a picture that is based on the data on the deposits that we have discovered so far. Planning for this is completely ready“, said the Minister of Energy.
The Minister of Energy announced that a program has been developed for six new drillings in the eastern part of the Black Sea. Five ships will be sent there. The goal is for the drilling to reach such volumes that the country can meet its own gas needs.
“These six new drillings mean six new hopes for deposits, expectations and work“, he specified.
The deposit in Sakarya, northwestern Turkey, was also identified by Alparslan Bayraktar as one of the key ones where extraction and production capacity will be increased.
The signing of agreements continues, through which Turkey can also receive gas from sources in other countries at good prices. According to Alparslan Bayraktar, one of the important agreements in this direction was signed with Azerbaijan at the beginning of the year. It will come into force in 2029 and provides for the supply of 2.25 billion cubic meters of gas.
Long-term agreements for the supply of liquefied gas were also signed last year.
„In particular, we signed a long-term agreement for the supply of liquefied gas from the United States. We start in 2027, with the agreement being extended to 2030 and 2040. The signing of similar agreements for liquefied gas will continue in 2026. That is, when we find a suitable field, when we find cheap liquefied gas, we will proceed to signing. We are reviewing our agreement with Algeria. Its extension is on the agenda. We hope that we will be able to take advantage of various sources. This year will also be very important in terms of the supply of larger quantities of gas from Turkmenistan,“ said the energy minister.
In 2026, Turkey will conduct its first drilling in Somalia. The energy minister predicts that this will happen in April or May, as the ship will set sail in February and will have to pass through Gibraltar to reach Somalia. Drilling is also planned this year in three areas in the waters of Pakistan.
Surveys will also be carried out, during which oil deposits are expected to be discovered in Diyarbakir.
According to the energy minister, hosting the COP 31 climate summit, which Turkey will host in 2026, will also be important in terms of the debate on renewable energy sources. He stressed that Ankara attaches great importance to both this and to increasing the share of nuclear energy. In this context, Alparslan Bayraktar also commented on the stage reached in the construction of the Akkuyu NPP in Mersin, which will be Turkey's first nuclear power plant.
“We will be in Akkuyu on Monday. We will again monitor the activities on the ground. We have made great progress. The preparation of the first reactor is 95 percent complete. That is, with all our strength and the efforts of our entire team, we aim to put the first reactor into operation. Nuclear energy production is a very difficult job, and in an international perspective, it is backed by standards that are very strictly outlined“, Bayraktar said.
The Turkish Minister of Energy announced that the Russian energy company "Rosatom" wants to transfer its experience from "Akkuyu" to Sinop (on the southeastern Black Sea coast), where Turkey also plans to build a nuclear power plant. According to him, however, talks are to be held with other countries that are interested in the project, such as South Korea, France, the USA, and China, and a decision will be made within 6 to 12 months.
Regarding the extraction and processing of rare earth metals from the Beylikova deposit in Eskişehir district, where deposits of 10 out of 17 rare earth elements have been discovered, in 2026 Turkey aims to process 10 thousand tons of soil containing them.
Improving its capacity and setting new records in the production of green energy, Turkey aims to produce 120 thousand megawatts of energy from renewable sources by 2035.
“In order to reach this goal, which was set by President Erdogan, we must build facilities with a capacity of 8-9 thousand megawatts every year,“ he said Bayraktar explained that this plan is being implemented.
In February, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to visit the Persian Gulf again, where a number of energy cooperation agreements were signed during his tour in October. New ones are expected to be added to them in 2026.
“We are aiming to sign an agreement that we have been working on for a long time - for the construction of a solar project with a capacity of 5,000 megawatts. The initial stage envisages the construction of two facilities of 1,000 megawatts each in two different cities, or a total of 2,000 megawatts“, said the energy minister.
According to him, this international project will lead to the lowest electricity prices in Turkey's history.