In an event described by the Turks as historic, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated the first pipelines on the sea line, which began today to transport Black Sea gas to land, in an official ceremony held in the port of Filios in the state of Zonguldak.

The transfer came today, Monday, about two years after the announcement of the Al-Fateh exploration ship discovering 320 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the “Tuna-1” well in the Sakarya gas field in the Black Sea, on August 21, 2020, and this discovery was recorded as the largest gas discovery. In the history of Turkey, discoveries followed, as a result of the intensification of excavations.

10 million cubic meters per day

In his speech during the inauguration ceremony, President Erdogan revealed that in the first quarter of 2023, Turkey will start pumping 10 million cubic meters per day of natural gas discovered in the Black Sea.

Erdogan indicated that the Sakarya gas field in the Black Sea will reach its peak production in 2026.

"We aim to increase our daily production capacity of gas to 40 million cubic meters through 40 wells that will be drilled in the field," he said, stressing that Turkey sees energy as a key to regional cooperation and not an area of ​​tension and conflict.

He added, "We have started the construction of a 211-kilometre onshore pipeline, and natural gas will be transferred to our national transportation network in conjunction with the pipeline that we will build in the deep sea. Once the gas reaches land, it will be separated and treated, and then we will transport it to the homes of our citizens."

From sea to land

Within the framework of the 2023 vision, Turkey will continue its efforts to benefit from the natural gas fields discovered in the Black Sea and to make it available to its citizens and enter their homes for use.

4,200 employees worked on the transport project on sea and land, and 16 ships, 3 of which were specialized in excavation work, while the ongoing work was going on at a depth of 2,200 meters under the sea and on the surface of the earth.

Earlier, 21,000 12-meter tubes were delivered to the port of the city of Filios.

In practice, the 170 km long pipeline that transports natural gas to the production facility has begun, and the process is expected to take about 5 months.

The ship "Castro 10" owned by the Italian company "Sipim" laid the pipes in the coastal section, and this section is being buried at the bottom of the sea for a certain distance.

President Erdogan said that in the first stage, between 6 and 10 wells will be connected to the subsea production system that will be established in the Sakarya gas field, with 10 million cubic meters of gas per day being produced from these wells and transferred to the Turkish natural gas network in 2023.

This means, according to experts, quantities ranging between 3.5 and 4 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, with production increasing gradually, as is the case in such fields around the world.

The Sakarya field is expected to reach the highest production level between 2027 and 2028, with 40 million cubic meters of gas per day, or about 15 billion cubic meters annually.

In turn, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez said earlier that Black Sea gas will be used in kitchens next year.

Earlier, gas reserves in the Sakarya field were estimated at 540 billion cubic meters, after discovering 135 billion cubic meters in the Amasra 1 site.

drilling ships

The "Yavuz" ship began its mission at the end of last March in the natural gas wells discovered by Turkey in 2020 in the Black Sea, after it joined the "Fatih" ship - which made the largest gas discovery in Turkey's history - and the "Qanuni" ship - which carries out other tasks in Sakarya Field - The three giant Turkish drill ships will carry out simultaneous work to start extracting gas by 2023.

Erdogan announced that Turkey's fourth drilling ship will be named "Abdul Hamid Khan" and will join the three ships.

The Turkish newspaper, "Star", said in a report that the drilling operations are divided into two levels: the task of the "Qanouni" ship is to work on the lower level of the wells, while the "Yavuz" ship is to carry out tasks on the upper level, and it will undertake tasks such as laying materials for the wells that It extends to the depths of the sea, in addition to installing safety valve systems.

Economic importance

With Turkey's successive discoveries of natural gas in the Black Sea, the hopes of the Turks are increasing that their country will reach the ranks of the "big 10", and improve the economic reality by reducing dependence on abroad in the field of energy and meeting needs locally.

The economic researcher at Yildirim Beyazit University in Ankara, Mehmet Klub, considered that the start of the transfer of gas from the sea to the land is a historical moment;

Once the gas reaches the homes of citizens, Turkey's position in the global energy market will gradually change from a purely importer to a self-sufficient one in the natural gas market.

Klopp told Al Jazeera Net, "We can say that the tangible economic effects of gas discovery about two years ago actually started, and it will be positively reflected on the Turkish trade balance."

Inflation rates are likely to decline within a short time as a result of the decrease in energy costs used in the industrial sector, and this will be reflected in a clear drop in prices.

The economic researcher explained that interest rates will gradually decrease in view of the annual revenue that will enter the country thanks to the discovered gas, estimated at billions of dollars.

A report by Wood Mackenzie for Studies and Consulting stated that the quantities of natural gas discovered by Turkey so far are sufficient to meet the country's energy needs for 12 years.

Experts emphasized that the gas discoveries in the Black Sea would make Ankara more powerful at the economic level, and would give it more freedom in its foreign political movement.

Ankara currently imports approximately 50 billion cubic meters of gas it consumes annually, and officials expect domestic production to boost the country’s gas demand by 60%, to reach 80 billion cubic meters annually by 2030, and it is also expected to reduce the average annual energy bill. About 44 billion dollars.

"Yeni Şafak" newspaper pointed out that the discovery of natural gas will end the era of gas import dependency, which in turn will result in lower gas bills.