Türkiye now eyeing large shale gas reserves

ISTANBUL

Türkiye, which has been working to reduce its dependency on imported energy, is now turning to extract large shale gas reserves estimated at 679 billion cubic meters.

As part of its efforts to diversify its energy resources, the country has already discovered 710 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the Black Sea and millions of barrels of oil in the southeastern Gabar region.

Now, Türkiye is speeding up efforts to extract shale gas from its soil.

According to experts the market value of the estimated 679 billion cubic meters of share gas reserves is $350 billion.

“Türkiye has the technology to extract shale gas from 4,000 to 5,000 meters depth,” said Ali Rıza Öner, a renewable energy expert at 4T Platform.

A private company conducted drilling 10 years ago for shale gas in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, according to Öner.

Presently, state-owned TPAO is conducting work at five wells in southeastern Türkiye and 10 wells in the Thrace region, Öner said, adding that six wells in the Thrace were put into production.

The last time TPAO opened a shale gas well was three years ago in Diyarbakır.

According to a report by the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), Türkiye’s southeastern and Thrace regions hold 679 billion cubic meters of shale gas reserves and 4.7 billion barrels of shale oil reserves.

That means shale gas can meet the gas needs of Türkiye, which consumes around 50 billion cubic meters of gas each year, for 14 years.

“Türkiye needs to invest in shale gas because it spends some $100 billion on imported energy resources,” Öner said.

Shale gas extraction is easier compared with conventional oil and natural gas extraction, but it is 50 percent more expensive, according to Öner.

Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said last week that the daily oil production in Gabar reached 30,000 barrels.

“Within three months, Şırnak will become Türkiye’s largest oil-producing province. At the end of 2024, oil production there will reach 100,000 barrels, which will meet 10 percent of Türkiye’s daily consumption,” Bayraktar said during a visit he paid to the Şehit Esma Çevik field at Mount Gabar in Şırnak.

Şırnak will become an energy hub with mining and geothermal fields, as well as solar and wind power plants, he added.

Some 30 wells have been opened in the fields in Gabar, and 23 of them are producing oil, according to the minister.

According to the government projections, Türkiye’s energy import will increase from an estimated $71 billion in 2023 to $77.3 billion this year before declining to $76.3 billion in 2025.