Türkiye's Abdülhamid Han drillship has commenced the first drilling in the Amasra-4 well in the Black Sea as of Saturday as the studies to boost natural gas production are continuing, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said.
"Our newest drilling vessel, Abdülhamid Han, has started its first mission in the Black Sea. We expect good news from its work in the Amasra-4 well," Bayraktar said in a post on X.
Separately, speaking to private broadcaster CNN Türk, the minister evaluated the current agenda, noting that the drilling activities are expected to last about 30 days.
Abdülhamid Han, renamed in honor of Sultan Abdülhamid II, is a seventh-generation ultra-deepwater drillship owned and operated by the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO).
Bayraktar, who pointed out that oil and natural gas exploration and production activities continue in Türkiye and abroad to curb the external dependency on energy, stated that various projects are being carried out in different geographies.
He recalled that the Oruç Reis research vessel, built in Turkish shipyards, has started its mission in another country for the first time and that seismic exploration will be carried out for oil in Somalia for six to seven months.
The vessel arrived off the coast of Somalia late last month, marked by the ceremony attended by top Somali officials and Bayraktar.
Providing details on oil production abroad, Bayraktar said: “We have a daily production of approximately 40,000 barrels in Iraq, Russia and Azerbaijan ... Our production in Türkiye, as of today, has exceeded 110,000 barrels.”
Looking at the natural gas production, he said that currently, through partnerships in the Shah Deniz Project in the Caspian Sea, more natural gas is produced than in Türkiye and noted that Türkiye is developing concrete projects in Libya, Niger, Sudan, Somalia and other regions on oil, natural gas and minerals.
"Our activities are currently continuing in three gold fields in Niger. Hopefully, we will realize our first gold production in 2025," he said.
Furthermore, he also informed that daily production in the Sakarya Gas Field had reached approximately 7 million cubic meters (mcm), adding that the natural gas needs of 2.8 million households are now produced in the Black Sea.
"Türkiye (also) has a small production in Thrace. Approximately 1 million-1.5 million cubic meters. Therefore, as of today, I can say that we produce 8 million cubic meters of natural gas per day," said Bayraktar.
He also said talks are ongoing for the nuclear power plants planned to be built in the Black Sea province of Sinop and the Thrace region.
Türkiye is currently in the last phase of building its first nuclear plant in the southern province of Mersin, aiming to use nuclear energy as a part of its energy mix while also upgrading its goals for solar and wind capacity expansion.
