Natural gas: an important deposit discovered in the Black Sea, announces Erdogan
AFP published on August 21, 2020
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Friday that Turkey had discovered in the Black Sea "the largest" natural gas deposit "in its history," adding that his country would intensify its research in the eastern Mediterranean despite the tensions.
This announcement comes as Turkey has for several years been stepping up efforts to establish itself as a major energy player in the region and reduce its dependence on hydrocarbon imports which plague its fragile economy.
The reserves unveiled on Friday will not be enough to make Turkey a major exporter, but they could encourage Ankara to continue its maritime research which has caused friction with neighboring countries in the Mediterranean.
"Turkey made the biggest natural gas discovery in its history in the Black Sea," Erdogan said during a speech in Istanbul, specifying that these reserves were estimated at 320 billion cubic meters.
The Turkish head of state assured that this discovery was of "historical importance for the future" of Turkey, which depends almost exclusively on imports, especially Russian ones, to satisfy its growing energy appetite.
"God has opened a door for us to unseen riches," he enthusiastically said. "Our goal is to put Black Sea gas at the service of our nation from 2023", the centenary year of the Turkish Republic, he continued.
Mr. Erdogan said the discovery was made last month in the Tuna-1 exploration well by the drilling ship Fatih ("the conqueror", in Turkish).
The first indications "suggest that the discovered deposit is part of a much larger reserve", added the Turkish head of state, without further details.
- "Not bad" -
Turkey consumes between 45 and 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas each year, almost entirely imported. This represents around 11 billion euros, according to the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK).
The discovery announced Friday "is not bad at all, but that does not change the situation either," put in perspective on Twitter Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, director of the Ankara office of the American institute German Marshall Fund.
"Although relatively small compared to other natural gas fields in the world, this one will help Turkey to reduce its energy bill", underlined the firm Capital Economics in a note.
"That said, there are reasons to be careful. It will take time to install the infrastructure necessary for gas extraction," he added.
President Erdogan aroused the expectation by saying on Wednesday that he would announce "big news" on Friday.
Markets seemed somewhat disappointed, however, with some press leaks on Thursday citing more than twice the volume of gas reported on Friday.
The Turkish lira was thus down slightly against the dollar after Mr. Erdogan's speech, trading at 7,34 against a greenback.
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