Last Updated on August 20, 2020, 10:20 AM AST by Anthony Morris
Turkey has found energy in the Black Sea, which is most likely natural gas, two people who have direct knowledge regarding the matter said on Wednesday.
However, they did not indicate the size and depth of the find, and also how difficult it would be to extract.
The two spoke after the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to deliver Turks “good news” on Friday which would usher in a new era for Turkey.
The President also vowed to pursue energy exploration in the contested Mediterranean waters which have triggered rows with the EU.
The office of the President has declined to comment.
The lira gained against the dollar after the news came and it was trading 1.2% stronger on Wednesday.
The benchmark Borsa Istanbul 100 Index had also risen 3% after Erdogan’s speech, while shares of petrochemical manufacturer Petkim Petrokimya Holding AS and refiner Turkiye Petrol Rafinerileri AS or Tupras jumped 9.9% and 7.6% respectively.
Fatih Donmez, Energy Minister, said during the last month that the drilling ship Fatih had begun exploration in the Tuna-1 zone, off the town of Eregli.
Timothy Ash, a strategist in London at BlueBay Asset Management LLP, said that gas discoveries had been there in the Black Sea before, but they were of a limited scale. He added that given its $35-50 billion annual energy import bill, Turkey would need something big which can be a game-changer.
Market upheaval after the news has sent the lira to a record low against the dollar, but the central bank opted to tighten policies by stealth, avoiding a change in the benchmark interest rate which could irk Erdogan, who continues to call for lower borrowing costs. The central bank’s policy committee meets on Thursday to consider rates.
Tuna-1, some 150 kilometres from Turkey’s coast, is close to an area where maritime borders of Bulgaria and Romania converge and not far from Romania’s Neptun block, the largest gas find in the Black Sea in decades discovered eight years ago by Petrom and Exxon.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
