From Black Sea gas flow to nuclear milestone: Türkiye’s 2023 energy dossier

The year 2023 has been marked by multiple breakthroughs that place Türkiye a step closer on its path to eliminating its heavy external dependency on energy resources.

The advancements ranged from an increase in international cooperation between Türkiye and international players in natural gas, the first gas flow from the vast reserve in the Black Sea to a milestone in the country’s first nuclear plant, which officially achieved nuclear status.

Türkiye began the year with a natural gas cooperation agreement with Bulgaria.

On Jan. 3, the two countries signed a 13-year gas agreement for the annual transfer of 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas to Bulgaria.

The first shipment under the deal, which is poised to contribute to Europe’s natural gas security, began on April 12.

On May 18, Italian oil and natural gas infrastructure service company Saipem and Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) subsidiary TP-OTC signed an engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract within the framework of the second phase of Sakarya Gas Field.

Under the deal, Saipem pledged to build a 175-kilometer-long, 16-inch-diameter pipeline 2,200 meters (7,217 feet) under the sea in the Black Sea, where Türkiye made its biggest gas discovery to date. The project is scheduled to start in the summer of 2024.

On June 16, Turkish company Kalyon Holding emerged victorious in the Romanian Black Sea Coast-Podishor Natural Gas Pipeline tender, leaving strong international contenders behind.

Kalyon Holding and Romania’s state-owned gas company, Transgaz, signed the agreement for gas transfer from Romania’s Black Sea reserves to connection points in the country’s interior through a pipeline that will be built between the Black Sea coast and Podishor.

In the second half of the year, Türkiye signed natural gas export agreements with Hungary, Romania and Moldova.

On Aug. 21, the export agreement with Hungarian state company MVM CEENergy was announced by Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) for the first export of natural gas via pipeline to a European country that does not border Türkiye. The agreement will come into force in 2024.

On Sept. 27, an agreement was reached between BOTAŞ and OMV Petrom for the supply of up to 4 million cubic meters of natural gas per day to Romania. The deal, which came into effect on Oct. 1, will run until March 31, 2025.

A day later, BOTAŞ announced an agreement with East Gas Energy Trading Company to export 2 million cubic meters of natural gas per day to Moldova from Oct. 1, 2024, onward.

On Sept. 28, Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation (TEIAŞ) and AzerEnerji signed an agreement to establish electricity trade infrastructure between Azerbaijan and Türkiye in the form of a Türkiye-Azerbaijan Interconnection Project.

On Nov. 16, Türkiye’s Petrol Ofisi Group signed a share purchase agreement to purchase BP’s fuel operations in Türkiye.

On Nov. 21, the country extended the existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) import agreement by three years with Algeria which sees Türkiye purchase 4.4 billion cubic meters of LNG annually.

The country also expanded renewable energy cooperation.

On July 21, French oil and gas company TotalEnergies purchased 50% of the shares of Rönesans Enerji.

Rönesans Enerji, which will continue operations under the partnership umbrella of Ronesans Holding and TotalEnergies, aims to become one of the three largest green energy companies in Türkiye.

Black Sea gas flow

This year witnessed the first time natural gas from the Sakarya Gas Field reached shore via a pipeline and was connected to the local transmission system.

On April 5, underwater pipelaying was completed to carry Black Sea gas onshore.

On April 20, Türkiye revealed that Black Sea gas was recorded as the world’s fastest offshore field development project, from the first discovery to production.

Once it reaches its full production capacity, the reserve will meet approximately 30% of Türkiye’s current natural gas needs.

On April 20, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that household gas would be free for up to 25 cubic meters per month for a year, with the cost deducted from bills.

On May 11, then-Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez disclosed the progress made during the first phase of the Sakarya Gas Project and added that once the second phase is completed within three years, daily production will increase from 10 million cubic meters to 40 million cubic meters.

On Sept. 27, TPAO General Manager Melih Han Bilgin shared that gas production from the Sakarya Gas Field reached 4 million cubic meters.

Oil discovery

In a bid to increase domestic output and reduce foreign dependency on oil, the country added pace to exploration for its energy resources.

On May 2, Erdoğan announced a new oil discovery in the southeastern region of Gabar with a daily production capacity of 100,000 barrels.

He also detailed that the oil discovered at a depth of 2,600 meters (8,530 feet) would be extracted from 100 wells and would meet one-tenth of the country’s daily consumption.

Türkiye’s oil discovery is estimated to increase the country’s overall hydrocarbon production from 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 180,000 bpd, with an estimated annual financial contribution of around $2.9 billion.

On May 21, TPAO started drilling activities in the Martyr Aybüke Yalçın-2 well in Gabar.

On Dec. 11, it announced that oil production in the Gabar region exceeded 30,000 bpd, as it proceeded to end 2023 with an output of 35,000 bpd.,

The aim is to ramp up production to 100,000 bpd in 2024.

Türkiye held negotiations with Iraq to resume oil supplies. Following a decision made on March 23 by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on oil shipments between Türkiye and Iraq, oil transmission from Iraq to the Ceyhan port on the Turkish Mediterranean coast was suspended.

On Aug. 23, the two countries agreed to cooperate on the reconstruction of the 970-kilometer-long pipeline system on Iraqi territory, which had been damaged by the devastating earthquakes that struck Türkiye in February.

On Oct. 2, Türkiye said the oil pipeline would resume operations and transmit 500,000 barrels of oil per day to global markets.

On Dec. 13, Iraq said it had reached an understanding with Türkiye about resuming northern oil exports through the pipeline.

1st nuclear plant

Construction is ongoing for the country’s first nuclear power plant in the southern Mersin province.

On April 27, the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant gained official “nuclear facility” status, and the first nuclear fuel was sent from Russia to Türkiye, marking an important stage in the country’s nuclear journey spanning more than half a century.

Energy and Natural Minister Alparslan Bayraktar confirmed on Oct. 5 that the first reactor would start operations on Oct. 29, 2024.

On Dec. 12, Akkuyu Nuclear Company received permission from the Turkish Nuclear Regulatory Authority to operate the first power unit, having submitted its first batch of documents on March 17 and its second on Aug. 24 for commission authorization.

Renewables and electric vehicles

On April 8, Türkiye awarded the first pre-licenses for solar and wind energy with storage. Mustafa Yılmaz, the head of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA), said they anticipate realizing investments worth $1.5 billion in these fields.

On May 2, the official opening ceremony of Europe’s largest solar power plant, the Karapınar Solar Power Plant, was held.

On May 20, Türkiye’s solar energy installed power exceeded the 10,000-megawatt mark, from power generation from plants across 78 provinces.

On Oct. 11, Bayraktar announced the country’s plans to increase installed solar and wind power by 5 gigawatts every year until 2035.

On Nov. 7, Bayraktar confirmed that the Wind Energy Potential Atlas was updated to reveal wind potential of approximately 100,000 megawatts under current technological conditions but could reach up to 150,000 megawatts with developments in wind turbine technologies.

The country also raised its emphasis on financial support for electric vehicles (EVs). The number of EV charging points across Türkiye reached 12,067 in 5,614 stations as of Dec. 25.