ANKARA: This year Turkey is planning to perform deepsea drillings and seismic exploration of oil and natural gas resources in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrakannounced about this at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, Daily Sabah reported. ”As from 2017, we are starting to search for energy resources in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. We are planning on dedicating two vessels for the drillings,” Albayrak said.
Albayrak noted that the searches, which are currently operated by the Hayrettin Paşa Seismic Exploration Ship, will be upgraded with another ship. ”With the second ship being launched, Turkey will be actively conducting its exploration activities in multiple dimensions and with more advanced capabilities,” Albayrak added. The energy minister also said that more than 60 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas resources are located in the region close to Turkey. He emphasized that the country is entering a new era to realize new investments by taking significant steps in the energy sector. “Bordering with countries rich in energy resources, Turkey at the same time is the center of strength and stability in the region. Ankara is a responsible player and, taking into account its role in ensuring energy security, will continue active efforts in this direction, “Albayrak said.
Turkey imported 46.35 billion cubic meters of gas last year, 38.72 billion cubic meters of which were imported through pipelines, and 7.63 billion cubic meters fell on LNG imports. Turkey imports gas from Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan. LNG suppliers to Turkey are realized from Algeria, Nigeria and other countries. Total oil consumption in Turkey at the end of 2015 was 835 million barrels per day.Compared to 2014, this indicator increased by 14 percent. Turkey’s share in world oil consumption, which is 95 billion barrels per day, is 0.9 percent. For comparison, this is almost half of the total UK oil imports. Most of the oil coming to Turkey comes via two main routes – the Iraq-Yumurtalik and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipelines. Some 42 percent of imported oil comes from Iraq, 20 percent from Iran, and about 10 percent or more from Russia and Saudi Arabia.
