State-run company finds gas in Black Sea

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

There might be further gas discoveries in the Black Sea, says Minister Taner Yıldız. AA photo

State-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has discovered natural gas while conducting an exploration in the Istranca region off the coast of Istanbul in the Black Sea, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yıldız said yesterday.

“This tells us that there may be other discoveries in an arc from Romania to Ukraine,” Yıldız said, adding that the the gas was found at 3,650 meters depth.

About $12 billion has been spent in the last 60 years for activities regarding explorations, nearly half of which was spent just in last 10 years alone, he said.

The total length of drills for oil and natural gas explorations conducted to date is 1,800 kilometers, he added.

“We want to keep the exploration budget, which we have increased 13 fold in the last 10 years,” he said.