A senior official stated on Thursday that this year will set a new "record year" for natural gas in Türkiye, highlighting developments in the energy sector, including the adoption of a new strategy aimed at expanding capabilities through various business models and partnerships.
"2026 will be a new record year for natural gas in Türkiye. We have planned six new deep-sea drilling operations off the coasts of Rize, Ordu, Kastamonu and Samsun," Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told a live interview with A Haber broadcaster, The Caspian Post reports, citing Turkish media.
"To boost Black Sea gas production, we will commission the Osman Gazi floating production platform," he added.
"This massive platform will produce enough gas to supply 4 million households for 20 years. As a result, our total production will reach a level sufficient to meet the needs of 8 million households," he said.
Delivering remarks on developments expected in Türkiye’s energy initiatives in the new period, Bayraktar recalled that authorities have previously announced that Ankara would adopt a new strategy this year, particularly in the oil and natural gas sectors.
"Following our production successes in Gabar and the Black Sea, we will now carry these capabilities abroad through different business models and partnerships," Bayraktar said, referring to a name of oil reserve in the southeast of the country and production in the northern coast.
Turkish state-run company Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) recently signed a deal with the U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil covering new exploration areas in the Black Sea and Mediterranean, as well as other potential international areas. Bayraktar earlier conveyed the plan to sign a similar agreement with Chevron next month.
Drawing attention to the momentum in increasing production capacity, Bayraktar said they aimed to reach a daily capacity of 500,000 barrels by 2028, and in the long term to lift this figure to 1 million barrels.
Cooperation With Libya
Reminding that Libya is a major oil-producing country, Bayraktar reiterated that 2026 will be "the year of energy cooperation between Libya and Türkiye."
He made similar remarks last week during a visit to the North African country, where he met with top officials.
"We are preparing for the new licensing tender to be held in Libya in February. We will take an active role both offshore and onshore," he said.
"We plan to establish partnerships with companies involved in existing projects in Libya and to finalize these talks in the first half of 2026," he added.
"Once the commercial conditions we seek are in place, Türkiye will have a much stronger presence in Libya," Bayraktar suggested.
Somalia, Pakistan Activities
"In Somalia, we are effectively moving into the second phase. Following the seismic studies we completed in 2024, we have decided to carry out drilling in three different offshore fields in 2026. As of April, we will begin our first drilling operation in Somalia," he also said.
Somalia is a close ally of Türkiye, and the countries have built upon a momentum in ties and cooperation in recent years.
"We have added two new drilling vessels, named Çağrı Bey and Yıldırım, to our fleet. We will send the Çağrı Bey vessel to Somalia next month," said Bayraktar.
Furthermore, also evaluating planned operations in Pakistan, the minister said that there, they would operate in shallower waters using different equipment, signaling they would also launch activities there with seismic vessels such as Oruç Reis or Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa. Last December, the TPAO signed agreements with several Pakistani companies to look for oil and natural gas within and off Pakistan.
Syria Needs
Regarding the situation in Syria, the potential for reconstruction and energy needs there, Bayraktar recalled that right after the fall of the Assad regime on Dec. 8, 2024, Turkish authorities began working with the new Syrian administration through a technical team.
"Our goal, as emphasized by our president, is to normalize life in Syria and ensure access to basic services. In this way, we aim to create conditions that will allow our Syrian brothers and sisters in Türkiye to return to their country safely," he said.
"We have increased the amount of electricity supplied to northern Syria. As of Aug. 2, we connected natural gas coming from Azerbaijan to the Syrian line via Kilis. Natural gas is currently flowing to Syria, where it is being used both in households and power plants to meet the region’s energy needs," he noted.
At the same time, answering the question related to the Akkuyu nuclear plant, he said that the construction of the first reactor is completed 99%.
Similarly, the minister highlighted that global oil markets have experienced major shocks in recent years, suggesting, however, that the market has managed to remain stable despite sanctions on Venezuela and pressure on Iran. He emphasized that the global oil market is undergoing "a significant transformation."
Also responding to the question of whether there will be a natural gas price hike, Bayraktar said that at the moment they "have no plans for a price increase in February."
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