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Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Turkey may announce a new discovery from its Gabar oil production field in the near future, as exploration continues both offshore and on land.

Speaking to an Anadolu Agency reporter at Russia Energy Week in Moscow, Bayraktar also set out plans to quadruple Black Sea natural gas output by 2028 and bring the first reactor at the Akkuyu nuclear plant online within a few months.

Gabar and Black Sea output targets

Bayraktar said oil and gas exploration is continuing at sea and on shore, describing production at Gabar as an important part of those efforts. "Work in Gabar is ongoing. God willing, we can deliver new good news from Gabar in the near future," he said.

Recording that production from the Sakarya Gas Field in the Black Sea began in 2023, Bayraktar said output there is rising to 7.5 billion cubic meters a year. "It started from zero in 2023 and today it will double. By 2028 it will quadruple," he said.

Diversified supply and regional infrastructure

Bayraktar said Turkey has faced no supply security problems despite successive crises in global energy markets, and that it is pursuing policies to diversify both its energy sources and its supplier countries. The country aims to use all of its resources, including renewables, nuclear power, domestic coal, oil and natural gas.

Long-term liquefied natural gas agreements with the United States are being used to develop alternative supply options for problems that may arise on pipelines, he said. Bayraktar added that Turkey wants to use its energy infrastructure to support regional supply security, and that full-capacity operation of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline would benefit both producers and consumers.

Gas and diesel ties with Russia

Bayraktar described Russia as a major supplier of oil, natural gas and petroleum products for Turkey, and pointed to a diesel fuel supply agreement between Russia and the United States. "Because Turkey is an important diesel partner with Russia, opening up this area is important for our supply security," he said.

Cooperation on natural gas between the two countries is now in its 40th year, Bayraktar said, noting that the first agreement was signed on February 14, 1986 and that Russia has supplied Turkey with more than 600 billion cubic meters of gas to date. He called Russia a reliable supplier and said talks with Gazprom covered new cooperation on gas infrastructure and regional supply security.

Akkuyu's first reactor nears start-up

Bayraktar said electricity generation is close at the first reactor of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NGS), which he described as the world's largest nuclear construction site, with four reactors being built at the same time. "Our goal is to commission this reactor within the next few months," he said.

He said new nuclear plant projects planned in Sinop and Thrace were also discussed with Russian officials, and that nuclear power is indispensable to meet rising electricity demand. Bayraktar cited population growth, economic growth, urbanization, artificial intelligence, data centers, electric vehicles and cooling needs as drivers of demand, and pointed to clean energy goals at the COP31 climate summit to be held in Antalya in November.

Energy events become targets

Bayraktar said attacks during the 25th World Petroleum Congress in Saudi Arabia, which he attended, showed the risks to energy security, and that many participants were unable to reach the congress. "It is not only energy infrastructure that has become a target; energy meetings and conferences have become targets too," he said.

Citing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, developments in the Middle East, trade wars and supply chain disruptions, Bayraktar said the new normal is "a world where conflicts continue and shocks and crises follow one another." He said Turkey is maintaining long-term energy policies in the face of those risks and voiced hope for an end to the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and between Iran and the United States.

Key takeaways

• Turkey may soon announce a new discovery from the Gabar oil field, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said in Moscow.
• Black Sea gas output is set to rise to 7.5 billion cubic meters a year and to quadruple by 2028 compared with the 2023 start.
• The first reactor at the Akkuyu nuclear plant is targeted for commissioning within a few months.
• Russia has supplied Turkey with more than 600 billion cubic meters of gas since their first agreement in 1986.