Minister of Energy: There will be no increase in natural gas and electricity prices in Turkey, in May
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar announced that there would be no increase in natural gas and electricity prices in May and emphasized that with the production of 100,000 barrels of oil from Gabar, it would create an economic value of 3 billion dollars.
Answering questions from Turkish media, Minister Bayraktar’s statements were as follows:
“The road to Gabar was our national company, which produced 33,000 barrels of oil and 600,000 cubic meters of natural gas per day in 2016. In 2016, we started working on national energy and mineral policy and strategy change.”
“And within the framework of the decision, we started to implement strategic steps. We set strategic goals in exploration and production areas. First; there will be no unexplored geography in Turkey. We decided to go to geographies where exploration had been abandoned before, and evaluate those areas with a different perspective. Gabar (mountain) is the result of this strategy.”
WE AIM TO REACH 100,000 BARRELS DAILY IN GABAR, BY END OF 2024
“The Gabar discovery is the largest discovery in the history of the Republic of Turkey. Our Şırnak province has become the province producing highest quantity of oil, in Turkey. Turkish Petroleum was producing 33,000 barrels of oil at the beginning of 2016. Today, Gabar alone has surpassed 40,000 barrels per day. Our goal is to reach 100,000 barrels per day production in Gabar by the end of the year. Intense work is continuing in this regard. When we reach 100,000 barrels in Gabar, speaking with today’s oil prices, it is an economic magnitude of 3 billion dollars. We are not importing this, it stays in our country.”
“We have wells planned in Hakkari, Van, the northwest of Gabar, and right on the border. We have a very ambitious exploration program for 2024. We will open 140 wells in 2024. We will hopefully add new reserves from these wells to our existing reserves.”
IRAQ-TURKEY PIPELINE
The Iraq-Turkey Pipeline is a project dating back to the 1970s, reflecting our neighborly relations with Iraq. It is an important project for the region and the world oil market… There have been disruptions due to the wars Iraq has experienced. We have always kept the section of the pipeline within our borders, operational. We conducted a study for the maintenance of the entire pipeline. We completed the necessary maintenance in locations affected by earthquakes.”
“I announced this to the world last October. I said our oil pipeline was technically ready to operate as of October 4, 2023. There has been no flow from the pipeline since that day. We have an ongoing issue with Iraq. Turkey is not the cause of the problems. There is a problem due to the disagreement between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the central government.”
“Our President will visit Baghdad on Monday. We will also be with him in the delegation. We want this pipeline to be fully operational. Iraqi oil and the oil produced by Turkey need to reach Ceyhan.”
OIL EXPLORATION IN SOMALIA
Somalia is a place where we think there may be oil reserves in the sea. We will start seismic work, and we want to conduct deep-sea drilling in 2025.”
“WILL NATURAL GAS SUPPORT CONTINUE?”
We will continue to support groups that need social support. Maybe it wouldn’t be right to support all sectors equally. We will need to cover the costs to some extent. We will continue to do whatever is possible within our means.”
