Türkiye continues exploration of deposits in Black Sea

Along with the active development of the large Sakarya gas field in the western part of the Black Sea, Türkiye is concentrating its efforts on the exploration of energy reserves near the country's eastern Black Sea strip.

According to Anadolu, citing data from the international vessel tracking system, the Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha exploration vessel continues exploration off the coast of the Black Sea provinces of Ordu and Samsun. The seismic vessel has been conducting a reconnaissance of this sector since April 7.

Previously, such work was carried out with the involvement of foreign companies, but in recent years the situation has changed radically: Ankara has relied on the formation of its own fleet of exploration and drilling vessels.

At the end of 2012, the state-owned Turkiye Petolleri Anonim Ortakligi (TPAO) acquired the Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa exploration vessel. The $130 million Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa vessel can explore deposits at a depth of up to 8,000 meters and collect 2D and 3D data.

The weight of the ship is 4711 tons, the length is 84 meters and the width is 21.6 meters. There is also a helipad on deck.

Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez on April 20 announced the possible presence of oil deposits in the eastern part of the Black Sea.

According to him, after the discovery of large reserves of natural gas in the western part of the Black Sea, Turkiye intends to speed up work on the exploration of the bottom in the central and eastern parts of the sea. The minister stressed that there is a possibility of "black gold" reserves in the western part of the Black Sea.

Answering journalists' questions in Eskisehir on May 8, Donmez said that the exploration of natural resources in the Black Sea continues.

“Our research vessels first conduct a preliminary geological survey. Probably this year we will start exploration drilling off the coast of Ordu. In addition, there are several locations off the coast of Rize in the eastern part of the Black Sea, where it is possible to find oil reserves,” he said.