Turkey discovers major Black Sea natural gas reserves
Baku, August 21, AZERTAC
Turkey’s president on Friday announced the discovery of major natural gas reserves in the Black Sea, near the Turkish coast, according to Anadolu Agency.
"Turkey has made the biggest natural gas discovery in the Black Sea," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the historic Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul.
The country's drillship Fatih found some 320 billion cubic meters (11.3 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas, said Erdogan, announcing the “good news” he had promised the public earlier this week.
Turkey aims to have the natural gas ready for public use in 2023, he said, adding that new natural gas finds in nearby areas of the Black Sea region are likely.
All the required testing, analysis and engineering studies have been completed at the Tuna-1 well - the site of the discovery - now renamed the Sakarya Gas Field, after a nearby Black Sea province, he said.
“The reserves found in this first well are only part of much richer resources,” Erdogan said, saying he hoped similar good news would come from Turkish exploration in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Fatih began its current work on July 20.
The Fatih's 103-meter (338-foot) tower was disassembled in Istanbul to enable the ship’s safe passage beneath bridges spanning the Bosphorus Strait before its journey north to the Black Sea.
The vessel set sail on May 29 from Istanbul to the Port of Trabzon on the Black Sea, where it reached its destination for reassembly on June 6.
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