Five things to know about Sakarya, Türkiye’s biggest offshore gas field

In a exceptional feat, Türkiye has accomplished work on its Sakarya gasoline discipline in lower than three years, with pure gasoline set to start out flowing from the offshore wells within the Black Sea later this week. 

Critics had raised doubts over the seriousness of the timeline introduced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in August, 2020, when he declared that the undertaking could be accomplished in 2023. 

“Of course, it is a large achievement. Even in case you are actually fast, it usually takes 4 years for an offshore discipline like this one to be accomplished. We can say that Turkish Petroleum has accomplished the work actually rapidly,” says Mehmet Dogan, the Managing Director of the Istanbul-based GazDay Energy consultancy. 

State-run Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) has developed a number of wells within the Sakarya discipline, positioned 175 kilometres from the coastal metropolis of Eregli, in collaboration with Subsea7 and Schlumberger, two main engineering companies. 

Here are some vital information concerning the multibillion-dollar undertaking. 

How was it accomplished so rapidly?  

Sakarya is an ultra-deep discipline, which implies drilling rigs should hammer down 1000’s of metres beneath the seabed to achieve the gasoline reserves.

Development of offshore petroleum finds is time consuming because it requires sophisticated engineering and a number of regulatory approvals. 

For occasion, gasoline from Sakarya will likely be delivered to land by way of a 170 kilometre-long subsea pipeline after which via numerous compression vegetation.

Generally, solely oil majors corresponding to ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell and France’s TotalEnergies have the monetary muscle to enterprise into deep seas to seek for petroleum. 

But after Türkiye was shunned by multinationals, Ankara determined to go its personal approach by buying drill ships — together with the sixth-generation drilling vessel Fatih — in a bid to search for oil and gasoline reserves within the deep sea. 

And the truth that TPAO ultimately turned the 100% proprietor of the Sakarya discipline explains how the event work was expedited. 

Industry folks say that non-public offshore petroleum firms usually get slowed down with paperwork, bureaucratic hurdles and sale-purchase agreements. So, as a authorities entity, TPAO was in a position to significantly scale back the time that goes into negotiating complicated pricing constructions and prolonged sale agreements.

Why did Türkiye determine to do that by itself? 

For a long time, Türkiye relied on power imports as there was a normal perception amongst policymakers and the non-public sector that the geology of the nation was not conducive to the formation of hydrocarbon reserves. 

But successive discoveries made by regional international locations corresponding to Israel — coupled with Türkiye’s exclusion from the Eastern Mediterranean power scene — pushed Ankara to expedite its personal efforts. 

In 2017, as per a brand new coverage, Türkiye purchased seismic and drilling ships to kickstart exploration in its territorial waters, and  Ankara put three ships — Fatih, Yavuz and Kanuni — to work to start on the lookout for petroleum reserves within the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. 

In the case of Sakarya, TPAO had labored in collaboration with companies corresponding to Chevron and Petrobras prior to now, nevertheless it started on the lookout for oil and gasoline reserves within the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea by itself as a result of these firms had been now not . 

For occasion, in 2004, British Petroleum discovered some exploitable gasoline in a effectively referred to as Ayazli-1 within the Black Sea, however deserted additional analysis and handed over the concession to TPAO. 

The power potential of the Black Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean, the place Egypt discovered the huge Zohr Gas discipline in 2015, stays largely untapped, specialists say.  

How a lot gasoline will it produce?

Sakarya will likely be accomplished in phases. In the primary section, it would produce round 10 million cubic metres of gasoline per day. That quantities to almost 10 % of home summertime consumption and  4 to five % of the nation’s wintertime consumption as folks activate their heaters, says Dogan. 

“In the second phase, which will be completed by 2027-28, production is expected to go up to 40 million cubic metres per day. That will probably meet 25 percent of Turkish consumption.” 

Last 12 months, Türkiye consumed 54 billion cubic metres (BCM) of gasoline, virtually all of which was imported from Azerbaijan and Russia, amongst different international locations. 

Dogan says consumption has usually elevated through the years with the development of latest residential buildings and financial enlargement. 

But final 12 months’s gasoline consumption was decrease than the 60 BCM determine recorded in 2021. That’s as a result of the share of hydropower within the power combine was extra in 2022 on the again of the provision of extra water. 

What’s the financial impression?

If measured utilizing at present’s gasoline costs as a gauge, gasoline from Sakarya interprets into an financial achieve of $5 million per day, says Dogan. 

However, this determine can drastically improve if power costs soar. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the failure of US banks have dampened the worldwide financial outlook and lower oil and gasoline costs. 

“If the natural gas price is crazy high like last year, then of course the benefit will be tremendous,” says Dogan. 

Price performs an vital function in figuring out the impression of Sakarya gasoline as Türkiye spent $80 billion on power imports final 12 months. A excessive power invoice dents Türkiye’s international trade place. 

But Dogan says maybe the offshore discipline’s greatest profit lies in its strategic nature. 

Türkiye as a buying and selling hub 

In October final 12 months, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed that Türkiye be became an power hub that connects client markets with manufacturing centres. 

That put Türkiye’s geographical location within the highlight because the nation already serves as a transit route for main gasoline pipelines. 

The presence of pipeline infrastructures in Türkiye such because the TurkStream within the Black Sea makes it simpler for the nation to export gasoline from its personal fields. 

Dogan says for a rustic to turn out to be a buying and selling hub, it should have its personal home gasoline manufacturing — one thing the Sakarya discipline offers. 

“I am sure with this project, Türkiye will strengthen its position as an alternative supply route for Europe and the Balkan countries.” 

Source: TRT World