Turkey discovers new gas reserve in Black Sea

ANKARA (TURKEY): Turkey has discovered a new natural gas reserve of 58 billion cubic meters (bcm) in the Black Sea, as the country's total reserve in the sea has reached 710 bcm, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced.

In addition to the new discovery at a depth of 3,023 meters in the Caycuma-1 field, the total gas reserve was raised also by a revision of the estimated volume in the Sakarya field to 652 bcm from 540 bcm, Erdogan said at a press conference after a cabinet meeting, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Our new discovery will open the door to similar discoveries in other geological fields adjacent to the region. We will start new drilling as soon as possible," the president said, adding the market value of Turkey's gas reserve in the Black Sea now hits $1 trillion.

The Turkish government will also focus on exploration activities in the Mediterranean, as Turkey's ultimate goal is to achieve oil and gas independence, Erdogan noted.

"We are determined to make Turkey the energy center of the Caspian, the Mediterranean and the Middle East," he said. Earlier, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez said the government plans to pump gas from its reserves in the Black Sea to its national grid in the first quarter of 2023.

Turkey is heavily reliant on energy imports from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran.