Turkey's Erdogan announces huge Black Sea gas discovery
August 21, 2020
The discovery comes as tensions between NATO members Turkey and Greece are running high over oil and gas exploration in disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean. — Courtesy photo
ANKARA — Turkey said on Friday it has found 320 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the biggest ever discovery in the Black Sea.
The discovery comes as tensions between NATO members Turkey and Greece are running high over oil and gas exploration in disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean.
Announcing the discovery, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it would usher in a new era as he vowed to step up the search for energy despite tensions in the region.
"We are going to speed up our operations in the Mediterranean with the deployment by the end of the year of the Kanuni (drilling ship), which is currently in maintenance," he said.
President Erdogan said all tests and engineering work had been completed.
He added: "This reserve is actually part of a much bigger source. God willing, much more will come.
"There will be no stopping until we become a net exporter in energy."
President Erdogan said he hoped to start extracting the gas by 2023.
But energy experts say it could take up to a decade and billions of dollars of investment to get the gas into commercial use.
Turkey bought three drilling ships in recent years as it dramatically expanded energy exploration in the Black Sea and contested waters of the eastern Mediterranean.
It’s keen to find sizable energy reserves to ease its heavy reliance on imports from Iran, Iraq, and Russia, and support one of the biggest economies in the Middle East.
