Erdogan Touts Turkish Black Sea Natural Gas Discoveries

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the discovery of new natural gas deposits in the Black Sea, where the country plans to start production in 2023.

State energy company Tpao found 135 Bcm of gas at the Amasra-1 offshore well, bringing the total amount of deposits discovered over the past year to 540 Bcm, according to Erdogan.

Turkey has ramped up offshore exploration for hydrocarbons over the past few years. Last year, explorers found 405 Bcm of gas at the Tuna-1 well in Sakarya field. Turkey currently imports nearly all the 50 Bcm of gas it consumes annually.