Turkey has officially begun the development of a gas pipeline set to link the upcoming Sakarya gas field in the Black Sea to the country’s national infrastructure. The first 400 km pipe section is currently being laid from the port of Filyos to the Sakarya field, located 170 km off Turkey’s northern coast. With reserves estimated around 405 bcm of natural gas, the Sakarya field has been hailed as the largest gas find in Turkey. It is expected to produce 10 mcm/day of gas during the initial phase, which is set to start in early 2023. Production will then increase towards peak output (40 mcm/d) in 2026.
Turkey depends strongly on natural gas imports for its consumption, notably from Russia (45% in 2021), Iran and Azerbaijan. The country’s gas consumption is also increasing rapidly, from 38 bcm in 2010 to 48 bcm in 2020 and 59 bcm in 2021. The construction of this new pipeline and the exploitation of the Sakarya field is expected to help Turkey meet its domestic gas shortcomings and become less dependent on imports from Russia, in the context of the war in Ukraine.