Türkiye exploratory missions bolster energy security: Erdoğan

Türkiye is bolstering its energy security through its exploratory missions in the Black Sea and Mediterranean, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Saturday.

While Europe frets about the coming winter, Türkiye is "already carrying out strategic studies to ensure our energy supply security," Erdoğan said at an event in the central Çorum province.

Türkiye's Abdulhamid Han drill ship set off for its first two-month-long mission in the Mediterranean this week.

It will drill exploration wells in the Eastern Mediterranean, while two other ships, Yavuz and Kanuni, continue drilling operations in the Black Sea.

The latest addition to the fleet is a seventh-generation vessel and one of five worldwide with the capability of drilling to depths of up to 12,200 meters (over 40,000 feet).

"I believe the Abdulhamid Han will bring good news for our nation, just like our discovery of 540 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas in the Black Sea," Erdoğan said.

From the moment we start extracting natural gas, this country "will be different and much stronger," he added.

Earlier this week, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez said Türkiye will be ready to use natural gas from its Black Sea discovery by next March.

The Black Sea discovery refers to the natural gas find of around 540 bcm in the offshore Sakarya Gas Field.

The country's drill ship, Fatih, discovered 405 bcm of gas in July 2020, followed by a second discovery of 135 bcm in June 2021.