Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez reiterated Monday that Türkiye’s discovered gas in the Black Sea will start to be delivered to the main system on Thursday.

The valves from the wells have been opened and the gas is now being pushed through the main transmission line that runs under the sea, he said.

"We started to press the gas into the main transmission line under the sea as of last night," Dönmez said. "It is expected to reach the land in the next 30 hours."

The energy minister said that they will open the first phase of the project with a ceremony to be attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday.

Dönmez revealed that the first stage of the Black Sea gas exploration will involve the production of gas from 10 wells. "Over the next three years, we plan to increase the number of wells and production capacity from 10 million cubic meters to 40 million cubic meters," said Dönmez. "By the third phase of the project, we expect to reach a production capacity of 60 million cubic meters."

In December, Erdoğan announced that the country’s drillship Fatih had discovered an additional 58 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas reserves at 3,023 meters (9,917 feet) at the Çaycuma 1 block in the Black Sea.

He noted at the time that Türkiye’s natural gas reserves in the Black Sea are measured at 710 bcm, with a market value of $1 trillion (TL 18.75 trillion).

In 2022, the country drilled 94 exploration wells and 56 production wells. In 2023, according to previous statements from the energy minister, the government will have 207 wells with 134 exploration and 73 production centers.