Türkiye discovers high-quality petroleum in country's east - president

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on May 2 announced a fresh discovery of a new oil reserve in the country's eastern region.

“I'd like to share some fresh good news. We have discovered oil reserves with a production capacity of 100,000 barrels per day in Cudi and Gabar,” the president said at an opening ceremony of the Karapinar solar power plant and other newly-completed projects in central Konya province, Anadolu reports.

Saying that the newly-found petroleum near Sirnak province "has a high-quality structure," Erdogan further stressed that "Türkiye will no longer depend on others in energy but rather become an energy exporter".

The oil discovered at a depth of 2,600 metres (8,530 feet) will be extracted "with 100 wells and will meet one-tenth of our daily use".

Erdogan also announced that the petroleum well in Gabar is named after a young music teacher, Aybuke Yalcin, who was killed in a PKK terror attack in 2017 in southeastern Türkiye.

Yalcin, 22, succumbed to her wounds after a brazen attack targeting the car of the Kozluk region mayor in the Batman province on June 9, 2017. She was travelling in a minibus that was part of the convoy.

“Our new field, the Martyr Aybuke Yalcin-1 Well, will hopefully provide more oil than produced around the whole country,” he added.

Regarding Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, Erdogan said the country will be able to meet 10 per cent of its energy needs from the plant and announced that a second nuclear power plant may be built in Sinop.

Pledging to remove terror from Türkiye's agenda, Erdogan said the country will overcome all obstacles that prevent Türkiye from placing the riches of the country at the disposal of the nation.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.