Continental Resources, a U.S. shale producer, estimates that Turkey’s Diyarbakır basin in the southeast holds 6.1 billion barrels of shale oil, Turkey’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said.
“Turkey currently imports 365 million barrels of crude oil annually. So a 6.1 billion barrel reserve is a significant figure,” Bayraktar told Reuters during a visit to southeast Turkey.
In March, Turkey’s national oil company, TPAO, signed an agreement with Continental Resources and TransAtlantic Petroleum to explore and develop unconventional oil and gas in the Diyarbakır basin.
“I hope this agreement, which opens a new chapter in Turkey’s oil exploration, benefits all parties,” Bayraktar said at the time.
Continental Resources also announced a Joint Venture Agreement to develop unconventional oil and gas resources in both the Diyarbakır Basin and the Thrace Basin in northwest Turkey.
Early estimates suggest that the Diyarbakır Basin could contain up to 6 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 12 to 20 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas. The Thrace Basin may hold between 20 and 45 TCF of gas, the company said.
Meanwhile, Turkey has just completed phase one of development at the Sakarya Gas Field in the Black Sea. The country has increased natural gas production there following large discoveries in recent years.
Current daily gas production at Sakarya is about 9.5 million cubic meters, supplying energy to roughly 4 million households.
A floating production platform is expected to double output by 2026. By 2028, daily production could reach 40 million cubic meters, meeting the natural gas needs of all Turkish households, according to the energy ministry.
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