Automotive Exports September 2020

Turkey’s gas
discovery to
have positive
impact on
foreign policy
ANKARA – Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan announced that
the Fatih drilling vessel discovered
the country’s largest energy source in
its history -- 320 billion cubic meters of
natural gas in the Black Sea.
The historic discovery did not just come
out of blue. Fatih, named after the
great Ottoman Emperor Mehmet II who
conquered Istanbul, has been drilling in
the Black Sea region since July 20. On its
ninth deep drilling operation, the vessel
hit jackpot.
Energy demand has been one of the main
burdens on the Turkish economy, with
Ankara paying tens of billions of dollars
annually to meet the country’s energy
need. The discovery is projected to ease
the financial burden for a number of years
as Erdogan said authorities were planning
to have the natural gas reserve ready for
Turkey in 2023.
The discovery is not likely to end Turkey’s
dependence on foreign alternatives but
Erdogan said the reserves found were
“only part of much richer resources”
given the fact that Turkey has one of
world’s top drilling and seismic operation
fleet and also holds operations in the
Eastern Mediterranean, rich in terms of
Discovery of its largest
natural gas deposits will have
ramifications on its foreign policy,
experts say
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