Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Friday that the country made a landmark discovery of – in the Black Sea.
The discovery is the biggest ever for Turkey in the body of water, and it expects to kick-start production by 2023 to coincide with the centennial commemoration of the establishment of the Turkish Republic. However, it said it still would need to iron out some issues in exploration in the Mediterranean with the European Union and Greece.
If Turkey – which spends about $40 billion per year on imported gas and oil – can extract the important resource commercially, it could help the country cut its reliance on Iran, Russia, and Azerbaijan for its energy needs. Erdogan asserted that Turkey was committed to ultimately emerge as a top exporter of natural gas.
During a media briefing, Erdogan bared that the country has made its "biggest natural gas discovery," describing it as a "momentous day" and pointed out that it offers Turkey a "new era" in energy production. The ship, called The Faith, made the discovery roughly 100 nautical miles north of Turkey's coastlines.
Turkey said it hopes the gas find can help the country in boosting its own energy and be independent, especially from Russia, which is very costly during a time when the local currency is depreciating and the economy falling as a result of the ongoing global health crisis. Russia and Turkey are set to extend a 25-year energy agreement that expires in 2021.
Turkey's lira currency rose against the US greenback on the President's pledge Wednesday to usher in the "good news" on Friday, but retreated after the volume of the gas discovery was less than 50 percent of what preliminary reports had indicated. Analysts said there are reasons to be cautious, despite the potential of the gas find.
The Turkish government acquired three drilling vessels in the past years as the country accelerated its energy program in the Black Sea, including the disputed areas in the eastern Mediterranean. Energy officials are eager to get their hands on a vast amount of energy reserves in order to be self-reliant.
Meanwhile, a number of analysts and even officials have warned that it may take up to 10 years for gas and oil from the Black Sea to be commercially produced, which means billions of dollars of investment would be needed to boost the country's energy infrastructure for production and supply.
