Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar spoke for the first time about the new natural gas discovery in the Black Sea announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during a series of contacts he held in Bartın. Minister Bayraktar emphasized that this discovery will play a critical role in Türkiye achieving its goal of energy independence, saying, “Our goal is to use this reserve as soon as possible and offer it to the service of our citizens. "The fees we pay abroad, our foreign currency, will remain in our own coffers, in our own treasury," he said.
Critical Statements in Bartın
Minister Bayraktar drew attention to the importance of the new discovery in the Black Sea in his speeches during his visit to the Bartın Governorship and at the AK Party Bartın Provincial Consultation Meeting. Bayraktar, who stated that he informed President Erdoğan about this discovery before his visit to Albania, said, “We discovered a large reserve of 75 billion cubic meters, a market value of 30 billion dollars, and capable of providing natural gas to all households in Türkiye for 3 and a half years. This is important to us. Because the Turkish economy has become a large economy of 230 trillion dollars from 1,3 billion dollars during the AK Party governments.”
The Energy Independence Goal
Minister Bayraktar, who touched upon President Erdoğan’s “Turkey Century” vision set forth on the 100th anniversary of the Republic, emphasized that one of the most important goals of this vision is to make Türkiye fully independent in energy. Bayraktar, who stated that energy imports constitute a great burden on the Turkish economy, said, “We are providing great support as the treasury in order to relieve this burden on our citizens. Today, we, as the state, provide almost 70 percent of the natural gas you use. We, as the state, provide 50 percent of the electricity used. As our discoveries, our natural gas production in Sakarya, and our oil production in Gabar increase, we will continue to do these.”
Special Emphasis on Abdulhamid Khan
Minister Bayraktar, who stated that he visited the Abdülhamid Han drilling ship that carried out the exploration in the Black Sea in the Göktepe-3 well, said, “Abdülhamid Han drilled 180 meters deep in the middle of the Black Sea, 2 kilometers from here, and approximately 154 meters below the seabed, and discovered 200 billion cubic meters of natural gas there. This is a very important discovery. Of course, our goal is to use this reserve as soon as possible and offer it to our citizens.”
Direct Benefit to Citizens
Minister Bayraktar, who drew attention to the fact that the discovery in the Black Sea would reduce Türkiye’s external dependency in the field of energy, said, “The prices we pay abroad, our foreign currency, will remain in our own safe, in our own treasury, and thus, different services will be provided to our citizens.” He emphasized that this discovery means that Türkiye will reduce its energy expenses and use these resources to provide better services to its citizens.
Good News of Natural Gas for Bartın
Minister Bayraktar gave the good news of natural gas to Bartın's Abdipaşa and Kumluca towns in memory of the new natural gas discovery in the Black Sea. He said, “We will bring natural gas to these places in 2025. Let's also start planning Kurucaşile.” This good news was met with great joy by the local people and is expected to make a positive contribution to the local economy.
Employment and Oil Production in Gabar
Minister Bayraktar, who reminded that 2023 thousand new miners joined the Turkish Hard Coal Enterprises (TTK) in 2, stated that they were making new employment plans and that new colleagues would join Bartın. Bayraktar, who stated that 81 thousand barrels of oil were produced daily in Gabar, where terrorism once ran rampant, said, “Today, Gabar makes an economic contribution of 2 billion dollars, or almost 80 billion liras, per year. God willing, we will go to Gabar this Monday. Our parliament speaker, our deputies, the opposition and the government will all see there together. Our goal is a Terror-Free Turkey.” Emphasizing the contribution of oil production in Gabar to the Turkish economy, Bayraktar drew attention to the impact of successes in the fight against terrorism on economic development.
Minister Bayraktar’s statements show that important steps have been taken towards Türkiye’s goal of energy independence. The discovery of natural gas in the Black Sea and the oil production in Gabar will contribute greatly to the Turkish economy and raise the living standards of its citizens. These discoveries have the potential to reduce Türkiye’s external dependency on energy and accelerate economic development.
