TURKEY'S GAS DISCOVERY

PLATTS - 21 Aug 2020 - Turkey has made a major gas discovery in its sector of the Black Sea with the Tuna-1 well, which is estimated to hold 320 Bcm of gas, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Aug. 21 in a live televised address.

The discovery is a major boost for Turkey, which to date has only had very limited gas production of its own and is dependent on imports to meet its gas demand, which last year totaled 45 Bcm.

Erdogan said he was targeting 2023 to bring the gas to "the service of the people."

He said the prospect would be renamed as the Sakarya gas field. "We have finished the studies. There are indications that there can be other reserves, so reserves could increase," he said.

"We have many licenses for further exploration and discovery," he said. "Sakarya was the first and we hope more will follow."

Turkey's energy minister Fatih Donmez said seismic data indicated further reserves below the field. "We will continue to explore," he said.

The field covers around 250 sq km.

The Turkish find is much bigger than the ExxonMobil-operated Neptun discovery in Romania's sector of the Black Sea whose reserves are estimated at 42-84 Bcm.

TPAO's Fatih drillship began drilling on July 20, having moved to the Black Sea from the East Mediterranean where it had been drilling in areas claimed by Cyprus as part of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The company's Barbaros Hayreddin Pasa survey ship conducted seismic surveys in the Black Sea in 2017.

Erdogan said more wells would be drilled, and Turkey would establish a production council to manage operations.

He said Turkey had drilled nine deepwater wells to date, including in the East Mediterranean. "We hope to have good news from the Mediterranean soon as well," he said.

Turkey has long harbored hopes of a major hydrocarbon discovery in the Black Sea, with company officials telling S&P Global Platts on numerous occasions that seismic surveys they had conducted indicate the presence of major hydrocarbon reserves.

Berat Albayrak, Turkey's finance minister, said Aug. 20 he hoped the discovery would end the discussions around Turkey's current account deficit.

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