Shale oil drilling planned in Diyarbakır, says Minister
ANKARA
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has unveiled plans to meet Türkiye’s projected tripling of energy demand over the next 30 years, outlining strategies to ensure uninterrupted supply, secure resources, and expand oil and natural gas exploration.
Bayraktar emphasized that shale oil drilling will begin in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır with 24 wells across four fields, while a similar method is being considered for natural gas in the Thrace region.
Providing details on Türkiye’s overseas exploration efforts, Bayraktar said they are working to finalize important talks in Libya.
“In Azerbaijan this year, we acquired a 30 percent stake in new fields, including the Shafag-Asiman field,” he said.
“We are heavily engaged with Kazakhstan, where we have ongoing projects. In Pakistan, we joined one offshore field and are now preparing for new tenders, looking at both offshore and onshore partnerships. In Iraq, Türkiye currently produces only 15,000 barrels per day. This needs to increase by 10 to 15 times. We have very intensive operations in Basra, Kirkuk and Northern Iraq,” he added.
Responding to claims that rare earth elements were being sold to the United States, Bayraktar firmly denied the allegations. “The agreement we signed with the U.S. is clear — it was related to nuclear cooperation. If it had been about rare earth elements, both sides would have announced it,” he said.
Highlighting the significance of the Beylikova field in Eskişehir, Bayraktar noted that it holds the world’s second-largest rare earth element reserves. “This site was discovered many years ago by MTA for thorium purposes. It contains thorium. In the 1990s, the field was transferred to Eti Maden, another state-owned company, which has since conducted 125 kilometers of drilling over more than a decade,” he explained.
Bayraktar stressed that the Beylikova rare earth element field will be operated by the state. “We aim to lay the foundation for the industrial facility next year and bring it into operation within two years,” he said.
Following the discovery, a pilot plant was established in 2020 to begin purification studies. “These efforts are ongoing intensively. In 2023, we commissioned the pilot plant, which is now operational and producing. In the second phase, we are working to transform this into an industrial-scale facility. Our goal is to break ground next year and commission the plant within two years,” Bayraktar added.
On nuclear energy, Bayraktar confirmed that construction at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is progressing, with the first reactor scheduled to be commissioned in 2026. He underlined Türkiye’s long-term vision, stating that by 2050 the country aims to achieve 20,000 megawatts of nuclear power capacity.
