Capacity at Silivri gas storage facility to increase to 4.6 bcm

Neşe Karanfil-ANKARA

Works to increase the storage capacity at the Silivri facility to 4.6 billion cubic meters have reached their final stage.

Gas flow testing at nine of the 18 storage wells constructed as part of those efforts has been concluded successfully.

Capacity expansion work at the Silivri Underground Natural Gas Storage Facility, operated by the Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (Botaş), began in 2017. The work, which will boost the facility’s storage capacity from the current 3.2 billion cubic meters (bcm) to 4.6 billion cubic meters, is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

The daily withdrawal capacity will also be increased from 28 million cubic meters to 75 million cubic meters.

Pointing to the 540 billion cubic meters of natural gas find in the Black Sea, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez previously said that the country is working to boost its storage capacity. “All those efforts aim to ensure supply security in natural gas.”

The Silivri facility will use wind power to meet all its electricity consumption. Botaş will establish a wind power plant, which is expected to come online this month, with 4.2 megawatts capacity at the storage facility.

Türkiye has two underground natural gas storage facilities: Silivri and Lake Tuz.

Botaş is also conducting work to expand the capacity at the Lake Tuz Natural Gas Storage Facility. The aim is to increase the Lake Tuz facility’s capacity from the current 1.2 billion cubic meters to 5.4 billion cubic meters by 2023 and the daily withdrawal capacity from 40 million cubic meters to 80 million cubic meters.

Türkiye’s natural gas consumption increased nearly 23 percent in 2021 from the previous year to 61.6 billion cubic meters.