Turkey will rev up efforts and significantly expand its seismic research in the Black Sea where it last year made its largest-ever natural gas discovery. Source: DailySabah

Works will be expanded to cover an area of around 10,000 square kilometers (3,861 square miles) that is within Turkey’s maritime zone and has not yet been seismically scanned, Fatih Dönmez told reporters.

3D seismic studies are currently underway the country’s energy and natural resources minister mentioned.

The country has so far completed seismic research in an area of 250 kilometers (155 miles) of its jurisdiction in the region.

Our goal is to drill an exploratory well this year in one of the fields we see potential in. And if there is a new discovery, then we will announce it.

Fatih Dönmez

The region is home to Turkey’s largest-ever gas discovery made by its first drilling ship, Fatih, last year.

The vessel found 405 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas at the Tuna-1 location in the Sakarya gas field, located about 100 nautical miles north of the Turkish Black Sea coast.

This gas will be brought ashore via at least two pipelines, Dönmez said. The pipelines will be connected to an onshore gas processing facility in Filyos in northern Zonguldak province.

Engineering studies are already underway to bring the gas ashore, and Turkey is determined to connect the gas to the country’s transmission system by 2023.

We are now working to prepare the gas field for production. After being brought ashore, the gas will be subject to a separation process. Because elements such as sand, moisture and water can come from under the ground, we cannot press them into the network.

Fatih Dönmez

The minister also emphasized that works were underway with both domestic and foreign companies to bring the gas ashore.

We will drill another 30 to 40 wells in the Sakarya gas field. We will bring the gas ashore with at least two pipelines. There is work to be done on the coast, especially the terminal and budgets of all these are in preparation.

Fatih Dönmez

Dönmez stressed that the amount of investment to be made would exceed the previous largest investment made in a single area by the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), the national oil and gas company and project operator.