Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Dönmez stated that Turkey has ceased to be a country that has been trying to beat its bad luck in energy for years and said, “With the energy projects we have realized, we have taken a step towards becoming an important trade center while contributing to our supply security. and facilities, one of the key players in a global energy crisis will be our own gas.” said.

Dönmez made evaluations about the energy projects carried out in Turkey and answered questions on CNN Türk.

Stating that 99 percent of the natural gas consumed in Turkey was imported last year and approximately 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas was consumed, Dönmez said, “We also import 99 percent of the oil and petroleum products we consume. The energy cost was around 94-95 billion dollars. We need to reduce the cost of energy products and reduce energy imports.” he said.

Dönmez said that within the framework of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s vision to break dependency on energy, seismic research vessels were purchased and then vessels with the opportunity to conduct deep-sea drilling were acquired.

Underlining that Turkey is among the top five countries with this fleet in the world ranking, Dönmez said:

“We started to get the results of the searches, we need to search to find them. We set out from the Mediterranean and the Black Sea in the last 5 years. We started the exploration in 2018. In 2020, we made our first discovery in the Danube-1 Well in the Sakarya Gas Field. We are realizing one of the most difficult projects. We are in the middle of the Black Sea. When traveling by sea, service ships go in 8-10 hours. We are close to our border area at sea. The water depth in the region where we drill is 2 thousand 200 meters. We are moving on land at 2 thousand 500-3 thousand meters. In total, water level. We reversed the brain drain in these projects. We faced embargoes due to our work in the Mediterranean. Our foreign employees became Turkish citizens there. We also gained such employment. We provide loans from Exim Banks for this project. For example, 650 million We have come to the stage of using the USD$ loan for the Black Sea gas project. For example, here we had to make minor changes to the route. We have deviated from the place where the birds stay.”

Dönmez said that at the end of the studies, the natural gas discovery in the Black Sea reached 710 billion cubic meters, and this is large enough to meet the needs of all residences for 35 years, when compared to the amount of gas used only in residences.

Emphasizing that they have reached a size that can meet the natural gas need of 15-20 years when the whole industry is considered, Dönmez said, “These times will increase as new discoveries come. This is only achieved by the discoveries made in the Black Sea. This place entered the literature as the largest discoveries in the seas. We will bring it to the transmission facility in Filyos with the honor of our President on April 20. It will be included in the natural gas transmission system at the beginning of May, after the calibration and process studies in a couple of weeks. Both our nation and our country will win. “We don’t have any income yet, we continue to spend. We are talking about a 30-35-year projection of 710 billion cubic meters. When these are taken into account, its value in international markets today may increase by over 500 billion dollars. It was higher last year. It is like this today.” he said.


“Work to become an energy center continues at full speed”

Minister Dönmez also touched upon the efforts to become an energy center and said that Turkey plays an important role in the transportation of natural gas and gas security in Europe.

In addition to all these, Dönmez stated that they added the floating LNG terminal called FSRU to the system and continued as follows:

“Lastly, our third FSRU ship arrived in Saros, but we delayed its launch due to the earthquake. We had two FSRU ships before, one in the Aegean and the other in Hatay. We added Saros to this. It is important for our security of supply on the west side. Gas shipments to neighboring countries as well. We gain the opportunity. With these developments, we provide the opportunity to process up to 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas and bring it into the system. We can provide trade for 40 billion cubic meters to countries that need it. This is where we became a gas center. While contributing to our supply security, on the other hand, becoming an important trade center A competitive environment causes the price of natural gas to fall. With these investments and facilities, in case of a global energy crisis, one of the most important players will be our own gas. When we bring the production in the Black Sea to the maximum level in two or three years, now is the starting point. We will start with 10 million cubic meters per day as a level, 2 years later in 2026, hopefully we will increase to 40 million cubic meters per day. We will be able to meet the natural gas needs of all residences. That means 25 percent. This is an important actor. With this field, our hand will be much stronger.”


The target of 10 billion cubic meters in underground storage

Regarding the underground storage, Dönmez noted that the capacity increase was achieved at the Silivri facility last year, and the capacity reached 4.6 billion cubic meters from 2.8 billion cubic meters.

Pointing out that the storage activities in Salt Lake continue, Dönmez said, “We have a storage capacity of 1.2 billion cubic meters there. Hopefully, we will increase that to 5.4 billion cubic meters. I hope that with the completion of the projects, we will have a storage capacity of 10 billion cubic meters. We have our own gas, We have a storage capacity, as you complete them, you become a strong country. We will make agreements with other countries, as we did with Bulgaria. We also continue to work on oil. We will increase the well field to 20 in the Esma Çevik field. This year, we will increase our daily production to 15-20 thousand barrels. Our target To increase it to 100 thousand barrels per day in the 100th anniversary of the Republic.” he said.


Akkuyu NPP and developments in renewable energy

Minister Dönmez said that Turkey has mobilized all its resources to achieve independence in energy.

Noting that the first fresh nuclear fuel will come to the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NGS) in a week, Dönmez said, “After the arrival of nuclear fuel to the region on April 27, the region will be awarded the title of nuclear facility. After the nuclear fuel arrives, commissioning and commissioning tests will be carried out. “A year later, electricity will be produced. Trial production will start first. When the construction of the nuclear power plant is completed, 10 percent of the electricity need will be met. It will be completed in 2026.” used the phrases.

Dönmez reminded that the installed electricity capacity was 30 thousand megawatts in 2002, and it has reached 104 thousand megawatts in the current situation.

Stating that 80 billion dollars of investment was made in this period only on the electricity side, and a large part of this was realized by the private sector, Dönmez said:

“Not only domestic capital, but also international capital came. This happened because political stability was ensured. We gave confidence in renewable energy in market conditions. The energy market in Turkey is one of the largest energy market in Europe. Our regulations are at European standards. Konya Karapınar Solar Power Plant The opening will take place this month. Europe’s largest and one of the world’s leading power plants. Panels are produced in Turkey. We rank third in the world in panel production. Last year it was South Korea. This year, we are in third place after China and Cambodia. In Europe We are in the first place. The share of renewable energy will increase.”


Employment studies in the coal industry

Stating that the project and employment studies related to coal are nearing the end, Dönmez shared the following information:

“25 percent share in Turkey’s electricity production comes from coal. Since we set the Net Zero target in 2053, the share of coal will gradually decrease. It was said that 1000 people will be employed in coal workers. It is on the agenda to hire 1000 more people. In terms of coal investments, establishing a coke factory “We are considering such an investment with the TTK and local actors. It will be an investment of approximately 150-200 million dollars. We will have the opportunity to employ 500 people again. We are planning this investment in Zonguldak. We will coke our own coal.”

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