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Turkey's first floating natural gas production platform, Osman Gazi, was sent off from Filyos Port to its duty station in the Sakarya Gas Field at a ceremony attended by Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar.

Bayraktar said the aim is to light the Sakarya field's flare from the platform's flare stack in December, before the end of this year, and set out production targets that would reach roughly three quarters of the country's gas-connected homes by 2028.

A production base the size of a skyscraper

Speaking at the send-off ceremony in Filyos, Bayraktar said the event marked a historic occasion. "We are sending our country's first floating natural gas processing facility, the Osman Gazi Floating Production Platform, to its duty station in the Sakarya Gas Field," Bayraktar said, thanking President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for his support and determination.

Bayraktar recalled that the platform was sent from Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul to Filyos together with Erdoğan on May 29 last year, the anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul. In the roughly 17 months since, Bayraktar said, the platform has been turned into a huge factory at Filyos, with a total of 21 modules installed to separate and process natural gas and transfer it safely ashore.

Among the structures built was the 2,500-tonne, 44-metre MEG module, described as one of the most critical parts of the platform. The last major unit installed was a 96-metre, 260-tonne flare stack that safely vents and burns gas released in emergencies. With the flare stack, the platform stands about 125 metres tall and is secured to the seabed with chains at a point 170 kilometres offshore, where it will process natural gas in the Black Sea for 20 years.

Bayraktar said the project is both a major engineering achievement and a demonstration of the level Turkey's offshore oil and gas exploration operations have reached, and thanked the engineers, workers and technical teams involved. Around 7,000 workers took part in the project, according to the minister.

Target to light the flare in December

Bayraktar said work is continuing and the target is "to light the fire of the Sakarya Gas Field from Osman Gazi's flare stack in December, before this year ends." The first phase has so far produced 7.23 billion cubic metres of natural gas from the field, with 12 wells reaching a combined 9.5 million cubic metres per day, Bayraktar said.

In the second phase, Osman Gazi will double that output with 10 additional wells. By 2027, total daily production capacity is expected to reach 20 million cubic metres. That would double the volume of domestic gas currently used in 4 million homes to 8 million households, Bayraktar said.

A further platform under construction is planned to raise Black Sea production to 45 million cubic metres per day across 32 wells during 2028. Bayraktar said that in 2028, 75% of homes with natural gas in the country, roughly 17 million households, will use Black Sea gas. "In three out of every four homes, our own gas will be burning," Bayraktar said.

Network expansion across 81 provinces

Bayraktar said one of the most important targets Erdoğan set out in 2002 was to extend natural gas, then available in only five provinces, to all 81 provinces. Today, Bayraktar said, gas is available in 81 provinces and 995 settlements, and the number of settlements with access will be raised to 1,000 before the end of this year.

The minister cited a 257,000-kilometre natural gas network, daily gas entry capacity of 495 million cubic metres and underground storage capacity that has risen to 6.3 billion cubic metres as the infrastructure used to deliver gas safely and without interruption across the country.

Supply security treated as a national security matter

Bayraktar said developments around the world show the strategic importance of reducing energy dependence and developing domestic resources. "Every country now sees energy supply security as a national security matter," Bayraktar said, adding that Turkey continues its investments without pause to secure its energy supply and meet the economy's needs sustainably. Drilling continues in different parts of the Black Sea for new gas and oil finds alongside efforts to increase existing reserves in the Sakarya field.

Turkey now has six deep-sea drilling vessels, two seismic research vessels and support ships, making the country the holder of the world's fourth-largest energy fleet, according to Bayraktar. The minister pointed to gas production in the deep Black Sea, oil output on Gabar's snowy peaks and exploration off the coast of Somalia as evidence of the country's reach.

Bayraktar said the point reached came despite hidden or open embargoes and other obstacles, and that national company Türkiye Petrolleri has doubled production over the past five years to about 300,000 barrels thanks to new discoveries. The target is 550,000 barrels in 2028 and, Bayraktar said, hopefully 1 million barrels per day. Exploration continues intensively in Iraq, Azerbaijan, Somalia, Pakistan, Hungary, Bulgaria, Oman and Libya using the country's own vessels, engineers, technicians and equipment, Bayraktar said.

After the speech, a video message from President Erdoğan was shown. Following a commemorative photo, the Osman Gazi platform was sent off with prayers to its post in the Sakarya Gas Field. The ceremony was attended by Zonguldak Governor Osman Hacıbektaşoğlu, Grand National Assembly Public Economic Enterprises Commission Chairman Mustafa Savaş, Industry, Trade, Energy, Natural Resources, Information and Technologies Commission Chairman Mustafa Varank, Artificial Intelligence Research Commission Chairman Fatih Dönmez, AK Party Group Chairman Abdullah Güler, lawmakers and other officials.

Key takeaways

• Osman Gazi, Turkey's first floating gas production platform, was sent from Filyos Port to the Sakarya Gas Field.
• The minister said the aim is to light the field's flare from the platform in December, before the end of this year.
• First-phase output of 7.23 billion cubic metres from 12 wells will be doubled in the second phase with 10 more wells.
• By 2028, roughly 17 million households, or 75% of gas-connected homes, are expected to use Black Sea gas.