Written by: Suhaib Shams
Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, announced that his country aims to increase the daily production of the national petroleum company to 550,000 barrels by 2028, with the ultimate target reaching one million barrels per day in the long term.
This came during the ceremony of dispatching Turkey's first floating production platform, named Osman Gazi, to its work site in the Sakarya natural gas field at Filyos port in Zonguldak, where the minister emphasized that energy supply security has become a national security issue.
Production Development and Maritime Capabilities
The minister explained that the national petroleum company has succeeded in doubling its production over the past five years thanks to new discoveries, reaching about 300,000 barrels per day, noting that expansion plans are ongoing to reach future targets to enhance self-sufficiency.
Bayraktar touched upon the international exploration activities led by the country, pointing out that oil and gas search operations are taking place in eight countries including Iraq, Azerbaijan, Somalia, Pakistan, Hungary, Bulgaria, Oman, and Libya, utilizing national capabilities of ships, engineers, and advanced equipment.
Exploration Fleet and Osman Gazi Platform
The minister added that the energy maritime fleet includes six deep-water drilling ships and two seismic research vessels, explaining that production and research operations are distributed between natural gas in the Black Sea and oil in Gabar, alongside ongoing exploration work in Somalia.
During the event, the Osman Gazi platform was bidden farewell towards its location in the Sakarya offshore field, where the efforts of all engineers, technicians, and working teams who contributed to completing this vital project to enhance the infrastructure of the energy sector were appreciated.
