Energy expert, Oguzakhan Aqner, said that Turkey’s gas discoveries enhance the country’s strategic position, noting that it has a growing presence in the regional gas market.
On Saturday, Türkiye announced the discovery of 75 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves in Bir (Kokt) in the Black Sea, in a move described as enhancing energy security and pushing the country towards a pivotal role in regional and international energy markets.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan explained yesterday, Saturday, that the Turkish Abdul Hamid Khan Shipping Ship for Excavation discovered the new reserve at a depth of 3500 meters in the Kokth field, which is located 69 km west of the Saqaria gas field and 165 km from land.
Initial data indicates that the economic value of the discovery is estimated at about 30 billion dollars, which is enough to cover the needs of Turkish homes from gas for up to 3 and a half years.
Micro -studies
The Turkish Anatolia Agency quoted the head of the Turkish Energy Strategies and Policies Research Center, Oguzakhan Aqner, as saying that the new discovery comes as a result of accurate technical studies in the Black Sea, stressing the continuation of the strategy of serial exploration in the western basin areas of the Saqaria field in the Black Sea.
Aqner explained that the discovered amount will be produced in stages, not at once, pointing out that the current discovery will support local consumption for years, even if annual production reaches only 6 billion cubic meters.
“The previously acquired infrastructure and technology will facilitate the acceleration of production operations,” Aqner added.
With this discovery, the total associate gas reserves in the Black Sea rise to 785 billion cubic meters, after it was 710 billion, which Akiner described as “the concrete progress towards reducing the current deficit and reducing dependence on the outside of energy.”
The Turkish expert pointed out that the start of actual production depends on the developmental scenarios that the Ministry of Energy will be approved, likely to start commercial operation after several years, and to contribute 7-8% of local annual consumption.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmzofokmewk
An increased presence
Aqner pointed out that Turkey has a growing presence in the regional gas market, saying, “Today we are a gas exporting country, and we have already succeeded in exporting to countries in the Balkans and Nakhjuan (in Azerbaijan), and we are seeking to deliver it soon to Syria, which supports our position as a gas trade center.”
He continued, “Türkiye strengthens its position as a central state, politically, military and diplomatic, and these discoveries give it a strong energy paper that devotes this role in the region.”
Akiner considered that the continuous pace in developing marine fields and increasing oil production in areas such as Gabbar (in the state of Sharnak in the southeast of the country), as well as the expansion of external activities in places such as Somalia, supports Turkish ambition to be a global center in energy.
