Türkiye discovers $4 billion worth of oil this year: Minister

ANKARA

Türkiye has discovered 57 million barrels of oil reserves valued at approximately $4 billion across several regions so far this year, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on July 30.

In a televised interview with state-run Anadolu Agency, Bayraktar said the discoveries were made in Diyarbakır, Gabar and Batman.

Diyarbakir alone holds an estimated 4 to 6 million barrels of shale oil and shale gas, Bayraktar added.

He also stated that recent exploration efforts in natural gas and oil resulted in the discovery of 75 billion cubic meters of gas at the Göktepe-3 well in the Black Sea, enough to meet Türkiye's gas needs for about one and a half years.

Bayraktar noted that onshore exploration is ongoing with new discoveries and said the figures are likely to rise by the end of the year.

The minister highlighted the potential of shale oil and gas in Diyarbakır, estimating 4 to 6 billion barrels of reserves in a 600 km² area.

“We are collaborating with U.S. firms there to extract hydrocarbons trapped between rock layers, with 24 vertical and horizontal wells planned,” he said.

“On a site, north of Bismil, we believe a 350-million-barrel oil reserve — comparable to Gabar — may exist,” Bayraktar said.

Türkiye’s floating production platform Osmangazi has arrived at Filyos Port and is undergoing activation, he also said.

“Once operational, it will double production capacity to 20 million cubic meters per day, supplying 9 million households. A second platform is expected to launch in 2027, pushing capacity to 40 million cubic meters,” Bayraktar informed.

Türkiye has also expanded its fleet with two new drilling ships, he said. “We will dispatch one of these ships in the Black Sea, bringing the total number of our vessels there to five.”

Bayraktar recalled that the natural gas pipeline extending from Kilis to Aleppo was completed in May, noting that Türkiye will cooperate with Azerbaijan and Qatar in this process.

“This Saturday [Aug. 2], we will start exporting natural gas from Azerbaijan to Aleppo via Kilis,” he said.

Bayraktar noted that Türkiye is currently exporting electricity to northern Syria, and stated that they plan to increase this export to 280 megawatts through existing lines.

Efforts are underway to reactivate the Birecik–Aleppo line, which was previously used and has a capacity of approximately 500 megawatts, according to the minister.

“Once this line is reactivated, nearly 900 megawatts of electricity will be delivered to Syria, meeting the needs of approximately 1.6 million households,” Bayraktar said.