Five years since Türkiye’s largest natural gas discovery

ANKARA

Five years have passed since Türkiye made the largest natural gas discovery in its history with its landmark drilling in the Black Sea, as the country now aims to quadruple the number of households using domestic gas by 2028.

The drilling vessel named Fatih struck a reserve of 320 billion cubic meters at the Tuna-1 well off the northern province of Zonguldak’s Ereğli district on July 20, 2020.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the find on Aug. 21 of the same year, calling it the largest natural gas discovery ever made by Türkiye.

Following the announcement, the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry launched production efforts at the Sakarya Gas Field. Located 170 kilometers offshore at a depth of 2,200 meters, the reserve was connected to land through a 170-kilometer pipeline. Domestic gas first reached shore in April 2023.

Under Phase 1, production has been carried out from 12 wells, yielding a daily output of 9.5 million cubic meters and a cumulative production of around 4 billion cubic meters to date.

“Currently, 4 million households in Türkiye are using our domestic natural gas. Our target for 2028 is to increase this figure fourfold, reaching 16 million households,” Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said in a statement marking the fifth anniversary of the discovery.

Phase 2 operations will be centered around a floating production unit named Osman Gazi which will process additional volumes and transport them ashore. With its integration, production capacity is expected to double to 20 million cubic meters per day.

Phase 3, planned for 2028, foresees the commissioning of a second floating production platform, which will raise total output at the Sakarya Gas Field to 40 million cubic meters per day.

Drilling operations in the field are being conducted without interruption by the Fatih, Kanuni, Yavuz and Abdülhamid Han vessels, each bearing the name of Ottoman rulers.

Türkiye’s newest fifth and sixth drillships have joined the energy fleet, with one slated to begin Black Sea exploration and production activities in 2026.