Gabar Field emerges as global-scale oil asset

By News Centre

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar answered questions from reporters in ??rnak. Bayraktar, who made extensive statements regarding the point Türkiye has reached in the field of energy, emphasized that oil production, especially in Gabar Mountain, is a "profitable business on a global scale." Minister Bayraktar said, "Türkiye has reached a different point with Gabar. Oil and natural gas production increased from 50 thousand to over 270 thousand barrels. The country's need is very great. No matter how much we produce, it is not enough. There are still points we have not entered."

Bayraktar, who underlined that they were targeting a daily production of 100 thousand barrels around Gabar, drew attention to the serious potential of other fields in the East and Southeast. Bayraktar, who stated that they were giving special importance to oil exploration studies in Diyarbak?r, said, “We are hopeful about the Diyarbak?r field. There is an oil discovery of 42 million, almost 3 billion dollars, until May 2025. We did not declare this as a discovery, but we are constantly adding reserves. A reserve of 6.1 billion barrels is estimated in Diyarbak?r. When this amount is taken into consideration, which is Türkiye’s annual oil import of 365 million barrels, it has the potential to sustain the country for 15 years. We will extract our oil from rocks. We have put into operation unconventional production techniques such as shale gas and shale oil in the region.”

Bayraktar, who provided information about the scope of the exploration and production activities carried out in different regions of Türkiye, said that they were working in a wide area from Thrace to the Black Sea, from Diyarbak?r to Van, Hakkari, ??rnak, and the border regions. Bayraktar said, “We are producing approximately 10 thousand barrels in Ad?yaman and close to 30 thousand barrels in Batman. Diyarbak?r is between 15–20 thousand. Gabar alone reached 81 thousand,” and conveyed the distribution of production volume in different regions.

Bayraktar, who mentioned that the oil extracted in Gabar is transported economically and safely, said, “Our Gabar production is transported via a 38–40 kilometer pipeline. The pipeline is much cheaper. We transport it from Dörtyol to Ceyhan and from there to everywhere by ships.” Bayraktar explained that the current system also works in integration with Türkiye’s refinery infrastructure and that shipments to refineries can be made via the pipeline extending from Ceyhan to K?r?kkale.

Alparslan Bayraktar, who also pointed out that the Istanbul Financial Center is important for Türkiye, said, “We need to combine the financial markets with this energy infrastructure right now. There is a natural gas trade there. Electricity trade continues more intensively. We need to develop something similar to the mines where this trade is done in Türkiye, and for this reason, we moved EP?A? to the Istanbul Financial Center. So this has a symbolic meaning. We are also saying that we want to transform this place into an energy and commodity exchange. So when we do all these, we will really be a central country. Türkiye contributes to Europe’s supply security. There are many more projects that we can develop. But today, Iraq needs natural gas, Iran needs electricity. So Türkiye has very important roles to play.”

Bayraktar, who stated that the work in Akkuyu is continuing on the nuclear side, said, “There is interest from Russia, South Korea, and China regarding the second and third power plants. But in addition to these, there are also countries and companies that we are negotiating with. One of them is Canada, for example—the Candu company. Among these, we will make the choice that will be most beneficial to Türkiye and will offer us the most competitive offer.”

Bayraktar underlined the need to achieve balance in the energy production portfolio and brought the subject to renewable resources. Bayraktar said, “We added 6,800 megawatts of installed power in 2024, 98 percent of which is renewable. But we definitely need to have a balanced production portfolio. We must invest in coal, natural gas, nuclear, and hydraulic resources.”

Bayraktar also announced that they are working on a new incentive package that aims to increase electricity production from Türkiye's 22 billion tons of coal. Bayraktar, who shared that the package will not conflict with the zero carbon target, said, “There may be a package that will somehow offset carbon emissions in coal power plants, perhaps with hybrid solar power plants and wind power plants.”

Bayraktar, who stated that Türkiye aims to increase energy exports in order to normalize the energy infrastructure in Syria, reported that electricity exports are ongoing and that natural gas shipments will begin “in the next few weeks.” Bayraktar also stated that they are open to international cooperation for fields in Syria. Bayraktar, who recalled that Syria's daily oil production was around 630 thousand barrels in the early 2000s, said that this production dropped to 350–380 thousand barrels before the civil war and that it has now returned to the 90–100 thousand barrel range.

Bayraktar said, “Regardless of where Türkiye is located—in Syria, Iraq, or Europe—cooperation with Türkiye benefits everyone. Today, there is no country that can say, ‘We entered into a business with Türkiye and suffered losses. This was against us.’ We are making a very important contribution to the security of natural gas supply with Europe. Türkiye is a very important country for the world oil market: the Iraq–Türkiye crude oil pipeline, the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline. Our straits are very important transit routes. In other words, Türkiye’s presence contributes in every field.”

Bayraktar also responded to claims regarding the latest discovery of 75 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the Black Sea. Bayraktar said, “The Abdülhamit Han Drilling Ship discovered a large reserve in Göktepe-2. I see on social media that ‘This is actually related to increasing and updating the current reserve.’ However, it is a completely different location. There are 80 kilometers between them. Therefore, a new reserve, a new discovery.”

Bayraktar also spoke about the electricity and natural gas needs of Cyprus and noted the following: “We absolutely need to bring electricity to Cyprus. Today, both Southern Cyprus and Northern Cyprus produce electricity using fossil fuels. Europe, which is very sensitive about the environment, does not say, ‘What are you doing, Southern Cyprus?’ However, if we bring electricity from Türkiye, there is an interconnection between the north and the south. Therefore, we can bring that electricity from the north to the south whenever they want. We can also provide this electricity from power plants that only produce renewable energy from Türkiye. Therefore, cooperation with Türkiye benefits everyone. However, as is known, Southern Cyprus, Greece, and the European Union are trying to create a political obstacle on this issue due to political motives. We are currently working very hard on the electricity issue of Cyprus. We have sent 5 of our different mobile power plants there—125 megawatts. Now we will send 2 more.”