Turkey's natural gas offers much needed energy options

Al-Monitor Pro Members

Gerald Kepes

President, Competitive Energy Strategies, LLC

April 11, 2023

First gas from the Turkish national oil company’s (Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortakligi, TPAO) ultra-deepwater Sakarya field is due onstream in the coming weeks. Located in the Turkish sector of the Black Sea, first gas and consistent first phase performance will be a remarkable achievement for Turkey’s NOC. TPAO has never before developed a deepwater hydrocarbon field, much less an ultra-deepwater one. 

Significant gas volumes will provide badly needed options vis-à-vis gas imported by pipeline from Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan, and liquified natural gas (LNG) from Qatar, the United States and others. Sakarya gas could be utilized for domestic needs — reducing gas imports — or to export gas, or both. The government envisions Turkey as a natural gas hub where multiple sources of foreign and domestic gas are traded and sold, realizing ambitions to be a geostrategically-positioned energy powerhouse. But, as important as Sakarya gas is, Turkey is a long way from achieving that vision. Much more is required.

The Turkish Black Sea natural gas play is not yet a new gas province; this is overstated. But it is significant, because it represents a major expansion of TPAO’s institutional capacity, and a successful first phase is an important step toward an enhanced national energy security scenario for Turkey. It could also provide the wherewithal to change its posture toward southern neighbors regarding the Eastern Mediterranean gas play and be a player in the resolution of Europe’s over-dependence on Russian gas.