For the first time, Turkey will supply gas from a large field in the Black Sea

Turkish state-owned oil and gas company Turkish Petroleum is preparing to receive the first batch of gas from the large Sakarya natural gas field in the Black Sea. This is reported by the Financial Times with reference to the words of the company's executive director, Melikh Khan Bilgin, writes epravda.com.ua.

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The first deliveries will take place ahead of the May 14 presidential election, which pits incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan against his main opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Last month, Erdogan said the government would cut gas bills for consumers and businesses.

Turkey is a major energy importer and almost all of the gas it consumes comes from abroad, making the Sakarya project a significant boost to the country's energy sector.

According to the central bank, net energy imports, which include oil, gas and other products, totaled $80 billion last year, which is the main driver of the country's current account deficit.

Turkish Petroleum will begin supplying gas from three wells at the Sakarya field this week, Bilgin said. Turkey is developing the project together with a consortium that includes the American oil services group Schlumberger and the British company Subsea 7.

According to Bilgin, the facility will start producing 10 million cubic meters of gas per day as soon as seven more wells are commissioned in September. According to the Financial Times, this would be about 7% of Turkey's total gas consumption last year.

Part of the gas produced at this field will be exported.

Turkish Petroleum, which spent $1,8 billion on the first phase of the project, plans to increase production in the coming years. Bilgin expressed hope that production will reach 40 million cubic meters per day when the project reaches full capacity.

Separately, Bilgin admitted that discounts on Russian energy carriers contributed to the growth of Turkish Petroleum's business, which indicates the deepening of the country's trade relations with Moscow.

"We are incorporating [Russian energy carriers] into our business model," he said, adding that it "definitely creates additional revenue and additional opportunities for us."

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