ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th April, 2023) Turkey expects to cover up to 30% of its gas consumption through production in a new gas field in the Black Sea by 2026 and reduce its dependence on imports, Turkish media reported on Monday.
Turkey's gas consumption totals around 55-60 billion cubic meters a year, Turkish broadcaster TRT Haber reported, adding that the government plans to cover some 30% of that amount by increasing supplies from a recently discovered gas field in the Black Sea.
The gas field will help Turkey reduce dependence on imports and strengthen its position in the global gas market, according to the Turkish broadcaster.
In 2020, Turkey discovered a large Black Sea gas field, later named Sakarya, whose reserves are estimated at 540 billion cubic meters. Ankara also discovered a new gas reserve off its Black Sea coast late last year. Together with the revised deposits at the Sakarya field, the country's offshore gas reserves stand at 710 billion cubic meters, the equivalent of $1 trillion on the global market.
In February, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez expressed hope that Turkish citizens could start consuming gas from the Black Sea gas field as early as in late April or May.
