Data from an independent research company showed that Turkey's discovery of natural gas in the Black Sea will contribute to reducing its imports by more than 20 billion dollars, while Ankara expects gas suppliers to offer more competitive prices in light of this discovery.

According to information obtained by Anatolia from the research company "Rystad Energy", the volume of reserves of the "Sakarya" natural gas field in the Black Sea may in the future exceed 320 billion cubic meters, which is a preliminary indication of the reserve volume, according to what Ankara announced.

It is expected, according to the size of the current reserves of the said gas field, to extract 2.5 billion to 20 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually.

Rystad Energy reported that the start of production in the Sakarya field would save Turkey import costs, as its imports would decrease by nearly $ 21 billion.

She indicated that the Turkish discovery of natural gas in the Black Sea will strengthen Turkey's strength in negotiations of contracts to import natural gas from other countries.

Producers Club

In an ongoing context, Rystad Energy reported that the Black Sea has not yet witnessed major discoveries of natural gas by drilling in deep waters, which led to the suspension of exploration companies their activities in the region.

And she stressed that the Turkish discovery of natural gas in the Black Sea and the start of its extraction will interest international exploration companies to resume their activities there.

Turkey entered the club of global gas producers with the announcement last August of a huge discovery of natural gas in the waters of the Black Sea, amid hopes that the country is seeking to reveal additional reserves in the waters of the Mediterranean.

The statements of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a press conference at the time, indicated that the discovery is the largest in the history of Turkey so far, with a total of 320 billion cubic meters, opening the door to other discoveries in the region.

The entry of the Turkish gas field on the production line is expected to have a significant impact on the country's imports from traditional energy sources, especially natural gas intended for power generation and the needs of factories and homes.

Competitive prices

For its part, Reuters quoted a senior official in the Ministry of Energy as saying that Turkey expects gas suppliers to offer more competitive prices and to show flexibility if they want to renew long-term contracts for a total of 16 billion cubic meters annually.

More than a quarter of Turkey's long-term gas contracts expire next year, and include pipeline imports from Russia's Gazprom, Azerbaijani Sokar and LNG from Nigeria.

The official told reporters that competition from cheap US LNG and the possibility of Turkey starting production of gas itself in the Black Sea changed the factors affecting the market.

He added that the "old-fashioned" gas contracts that are very guided by oil prices and oblige buyers to bear penalties unless they buy their full share no longer fit the market realities, noting that prices must be set compared to those in force in major gas centers.

"We started discussing whether we will renew (contracts) or find an alternative resource," the official said in a statement on condition of anonymity.

He added that the decision will depend on whether the suppliers "follow the same old ways, that is, without flexibility and without very competitive price offers," and clarified that in that case, "I do not think we will witness any of the current contracts continuing."

In the first half of this year, its imports from Russia and Iran decreased, at a time when imports from Azerbaijan increased, and American gas purchases witnessed a sharp increase.

The discovery of a large gas field in the Black Sea opens the way for Turkey to produce locally.