Minister Bayraktar announces no natural gas price hikes

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar answered questions about the current agenda during a live broadcast on CNN Türk.

"WE ARE NOT PLANNING A PRICE HIKE THIS WINTER"

Regarding whether there will be a price hike for natural gas this year, Bayraktar said, "There is currently no price hike in sight. We are not planning a price hike this winter."

Minister Bayraktar noted that they are producing over 32 thousand barrels of oil per day in Gabar, and that the target for the end of the year is 100 thousand barrels, which would meet 20 percent of Turkey's needs.

"WE HAVE A TARGET TO SUPPLY GAS TO 15 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS"

Highlights from Bayraktar's statements are as follows:

"We will be able to produce in 1 year in the Black Sea the amount of gas we produced in Turkey in 50 years. Turkey has a great need for gas. We use it at home and in industry. Unfortunately, we are dependent on foreign sources in this regard. The sea depth there is 2 thousand 100 meters. We are drilling up to 2500 meters after the seabed. We extract the gas from here and transport it to the shore. The discovery was a difficult process, but moving to production is a more difficult process.

We have started producing gas in that field. The gas is used in homes. We have a target of 10 million cubic meters in the first stage. We are currently doing 2.2 million cubic meters per day. This is our target in the first phase. We will increase it to 40 million cubic meters in the second phase. When we reach 40 million, we will have met the gas needs of 15 million households. We have a target to reach these figures in 2026-27. If we can bring it forward, it will be even more valuable."

"THERE WILL BE NEW GAS DISCOVERIES"

"We also aim to open new exploration wells. The Sakarya Gas Field is where we made the discovery. We have opened 17 wells there. Work has intensified there. For this reason, 3 ships are there. This place is 170 km away from Filyos, that is, from the shore. We think there is new potential in this region. There are places we want to explore in the Central and Eastern Black Sea. Some of these are gas, and some are oil. We plan to carry out exploratory drilling. We will conduct exploratory drilling without disrupting production."

"WE HAD A VERY ACTIVE PERIOD IN THE MEDITERRANEAN"

"Turkey's energy dependency on foreign sources is around 68 percent. This is a very large figure. Turkey must absolutely be fully independent in energy. This is our goal. This is a step taken on that path. It is the same for oil. We are hopeful, but I do not want to say anything blindly without discovering something. We plan to drill in the Central and Eastern Black Sea with hope. Abdulhamid Han is conducting exploration work in the Eastern Mediterranean. We had a very active period in the Mediterranean. We said that we need to bring a new perspective to this. We are displaying a different approach in the Mediterranean and we have moved to the Black Sea."

"WORK CONTINUES DAY AND NIGHT IN GABAR"

"As of today, we are producing 32 thousand barrels of oil per day in Gabar, Şırnak. In 2016, the total oil production of Turkish Petroleum was 35 thousand barrels per day. Today, we have reached a value that will double the production figure of that day. Work continues there day and night. The target at the end of this year is 100 thousand barrels. On one hand, we continue production work, and on the other, we are conducting exploration work. Some of what is said is true. There were fields where we got different results when we drilled wells that had been filled with concrete and closed. There was terrorism in Şırnak, Gabar, and Kato. Now, there is no name for terrorism there.

Therefore, these regions are unexplored regions. These were areas that could not be reached. It is a very large discovery. 100 thousand barrels is a very important figure. We produce oil in Batman and Adıyaman. When this 100 thousand barrels is produced, it means reaching 175 to 200 thousand barrels in 2024. This means that Turkey is producing 20 percent of its needs here. We will reach this figure when 90-100 wells are opened. There are two main issues in seismic work. One is two-dimensional seismic. This is like taking an X-ray of the work. The second issue is 3D seismic. If we see something, we drill."