Turkey discovers massive gas reserve in Black Sea, Erdogan promises good news

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Turkey has found a large amount of gas recently, in a disclosure that may help it reduce its dependence on energy imports if the discovered materials can be commercially extracted.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told executives in the energy sector on Wednesday, he will announce “good news” on Friday, which will mark the beginning of a “new era” for Turkey.

Erdogan did not give details, but two sources told Reuters that he was talking about a gas discovery in the Black Sea, and one of them explained that the size of the reserves may meet Turkey’s energy needs for twenty years.

The Turkish exploration vessel Fatih has been operating since late July in the “Tuna-1” exploration area, which is about 100 nautical miles north of the Turkish coast on the western Black Sea.

There has been a discovery of natural gas in the well (Tuna 1), an expected reserve of 26 trillion cubic feet or 800 billion cubic meters, and it meets Turkey’s needs for about 20 years.

But he warned that the start of production could take approximately seven to ten years, and he estimated the investment costs between two and three billion dollars.

Officials, including Energy Minister Fatih Donmaz, did not give details of the expected announcement on Friday, saying that Erdogan would reveal the “surprise” himself.