Turkey announces major natural gas discovery in Black Sea

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the discovery of 320 billion cubic meters of natural gas will help Turkey reduce its reliance on foreign energy supplies.
People watch as Scarabeo 9, a 115-meter-long and 78-meter-high Frigstad D90-type semi-submersible drilling rig, passes on the Bosphorus Strait en route to the Black Sea in Istanbul on August 29, 2019. - The semi-submersible drilling rig is owned and operated by Italian oil and gas industry contractor Saipem and registered in Nassau, Bahamas. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)
People watch as Scarabeo 9, a 115-meter-long and 78-meter-high Frigstad D90-type semi-submersible drilling rig, passes on the Bosporus Strait en route to the Black Sea in Istanbul on Aug. 29, 2019. - OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images
Al Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East
Al-Monitor Staff

President Receip Tayyip Erdogan unveiled Turkey’s biggest-ever natural gas find in the Black Sea on Friday, a discovery he said will pave the way to energy independence for the country. 

“Turkey has discovered its biggest natural gas [reserve] in Turkish history in the Black Sea,” Erdogan said during a televised address Friday at Istanbul's Dolmabahce Palace. “My Lord has opened the door to unprecedented wealth for us.”

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