Sakarya Gas Field to meet needs of 4 million households, Minister says
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar, who was a guest at the Anadolu Agency (AA) Editor's Desk, answered questions and made evaluations regarding the agenda.
Bayraktar stated that natural gas and electricity are the most basic needs of the citizens and said, "We have a goal of bringing natural gas to all of Turkey, to households. We currently have natural gas in 81 provinces. This is now a necessity. It is an important fuel that we use at home, at work and in industry. We import it to a large extent."
Recalling that until the discovery of natural gas in the Black Sea, almost all of the natural gas was imported, Bayraktar emphasized that prices were greatly affected by international developments and were fragile.
"60% of 1000 lira bills are still covered by our state"
Bayraktar underlined that the state has been supporting households and businesses in natural gas and electricity since the pandemic period, and continued as follows:
"We have very serious support through the Treasury for
electricity and natural gas. 60 percent of the 1000 lira gas and
electricity bill is still covered by our state. We will continue
these supports within budget possibilities. We will continue to
protect our citizens against developing and increasing prices in
the world. While doing this, we need to use the support mechanism
more effectively. It is also under the title of activating supports
in the OVP. Each of us has this support for the electricity and gas
we use at home. We think it is more correct to reflect it on a cost
basis according to the cost to consumers with high income groups
who can bear the real cost. We are considering a model where our
truly needy, lower-income citizens and retirees can benefit from
this support and meet this, and citizens whose houses are much
larger, use a lot of electricity, have electric vehicles, and whose
consumption is above a certain rate cover the real costs instead of
benefiting from these supports. These supports will continue within
budget possibilities. We are carrying out the process in
coordination with the Central Bank and the Ministry of Treasury and
Finance without ignoring the impact of changes that may occur in
energy prices on inflation."
Minister Bayraktar, stating that one of the priority elements
within the scope of the OVP is the fight against the current
account deficit and inflation, said, "We have very important goals
related to reducing these. We are directly involved in this
program, which will reduce energy imports, the current account
deficit and energy costs, and reduce pressures on inflation."
New natural gas platform to start production in 2026
Bayraktar reminded that Turkey is carrying out activities to increase its own resources within the scope of its goal of reducing its energy import bill, and noted that exploration activities are continuing in the Sakarya Gas Field in the Black Sea.
Bayraktar stated that a production level of over 6 million cubic meters has been reached in the Sakarya Gas Field, which will meet the natural gas needs of 2.6 million households, and that there is a daily production of approximately 1.5 million cubic meters outside the Sakarya Gas Field.
Bayraktar, drawing attention to the fact that there are 20 million households in Turkey and that thanks to the production in the Black Sea, the needs of 12-13 percent of the households are met by local production, continued as follows:
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