Turkey announces Med drilling - KATHIMERINI

Saturday, May 12, 2018, 16:08

Turkey will start drilling for oil and gas in the Mediterranean before the end of the summer, according to comments Friday by the country’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak.

The Turkish minister, who is also the son-in-law of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, added that “great efforts” are being made to “ensure there is no letup in this momentum.”

His statements come as no surprise in Greece as Ankara has already purchased a drillship. However, Albayrak’s comments are also being taken with a grain of salt, given that the neighboring country is heading for elections on June 24.

Turkey has maintained it will not allow the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus to drill for gas in its exclusive economic zone, saying the Turkish Cypriots must also be included in the process. Furthermore, it claims that parts of the island’s EEZ are disputed, and it remains to be seen where exactly Turkey plans to drill in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey’s first drillship to arrive by end of December - HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

December 18 2017 12:39:00
ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s first drillship, the Deepsea Metro 2, is expected to arrive in Turkey by the end of December in preparation for exploratory offshore drilling in the Mediterranean Sea at the beginning of next year, shipping data showed on Dec. 18.

The data showed that the ship, which will be used by the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), left Norway’s Hoylandsbygda port and is expected to arrive in Turkey on Dec. 31.

Turkey has already undertaken oil and gas exploration using two seismic ships, but the Deepsea Metro 2 will be the country’s first active drillship.

The South Korean merchant vessel was produced in 2011, has a length of 229 meters (751 feet), and is capable of drilling into a maximum depth of 40,000 feet.

Two new FSRU facilities to be launched in Turkey - ANADOLU AGENCY

20.11.2017

Ebru Şengül

Ankara - Two new Floating Storage Regasification Units (FSRU) will be put into operation in Turkey, one in Hatay/Dortyol in southern Turkey and the other in Saros Bay on the Gallipoli peninsula in the northwest, Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak said on Monday.

Speaking at the Turkish Grand National Assembly [Parliament] Plan and Budget Commission, Albayrak said the Hatay FSRU will have a regasification capacity of 29 million cubic meters (mcm) per day and will become operational by the end of the year.

Turkey's natural gas storage capacity will rise to 10 billion cubic meters (bcm), or equal to 20 percent of annual natural gas consumption, he said.

A Natural Gas War Is Brewing In The Mediterranean - OILPRICE.com

Jul 16, 2017, 12:00 PM CDT
Cyril Widdershoven

Offshore gas developments in the East Mediterranean region are heating up. Alongside increased exploration efforts and a possible gas pipeline deal between Turkey and Israel, geopolitical risks are increasing too. While commercial prospects are starting to look good for all parties, a real military conflict is also brewing and may come to a head if Cyprus, Greece and Turkey are not able to find a solution soon.

Optimism has been high of late about the prospects of offshore Cyprus gas developments, not only due to the increased interest and agreements reached by Nicosia and several international partners, but also based on a possible Cyprus reunification success. However, the latest development has once again proved to be in vain, as the two main stakeholders, [Greek Cypriots] and [Turkish Cypriots], were again not able to find a solution to solve the dispute. Both sides still accuse each other of being unwilling to reach a final solution. This continuing military standoff could threaten the ongoing offshore oil and gas exploration projects of French oil major Total and Italian major ENI. The oil majors have stated that they will start their offshore drilling operations at Block 11 on July 16.

Turkey’s Barbaros sets course for Cyprus’ Block 6 - IN CYPRUS / CYPRUS WEEKLY

July 15, 2017

Turkey’s exploratory vessel Barbaros has reportedly set a course for Block 6 within Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) while Nicosia continues to call for calm against an act many see as a provocation by Ankara to raise tensions.

Earlier on Friday, Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak said that they had completed tests in Famagusta and that “our next step is Morphou which is very important to us.”

Turkey recently announced that it would conduct seismic researches to the east of Paphos following the start of the drilling process – commissioned by ENI/Total in Block 11 of the island’s EEZ.

Indian companies to bid for Israeli oil and gas licenses - YNETnews.com

15.07.17 , 17:24
Ilan Evyatar/TPS

After Israel issues tenders for licenses to drill in 24 blocs of up to 400 square kilometers in size, India announces that it will take part in the bidding for natural gas and oil licenses in Israel’s maritime economic zones.

Indian energy companies will take part in the bidding for natural gas and oil licenses in Israel’s economic waters, India’s Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan told his Israeli counterpart Yuval Steinitz, during a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey on Wednesday.

The two met on the sidelines of the World Petroleum Congress and agreed to set up joint work teams to strengthen energy cooperation between the two countries. The announcement comes a week after a historic visit to Israel by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which trade deals worth billions of dollars were signed.

Turkey energy minister 'to visit Israel for pipeline deal' - i24NEWS

   Turkish energy Minister Berat Albayrak, July 27, 2016 (AFP)

JULY/12/2017 6:08:16 PM
Written by AFP

He added that no exact date for a visit had been fixed but it would take place in the coming months

Turkey's Energy Minister Berat Albayrak is set to visit Israel by the end of this year to conclude an agreement for the building of a natural gas pipeline from the Jewish state to Turkey, the Israeli energy minister said on Wednesday.

A visit by Albayrak, son-in-law of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a key member of his inner circle, would be a significant diplomatic move by Ankara after a rapprochement deal last year between the two countries mended a long-standing rift.

National seismic exploration vessel Oruç Reis ready to survey Black Sea - DAILY SABAH / ANADOLU AGENCY

The 86-meter-long, 22-meter-wide vessel will be able to stay
at sea for 35 days with full fuel and water reserves

28.6.2017

As Turkey continues to take steps to boost its position as a major energy player in the region, the second of two seismic exploration vessels, the Oruç Reis, is ready to undergo exploration work in the Black Sea

After the completion of all necessary tests, a national seismic exploration vessel, the MTA Oruç Reis, is ready to begin oil and natural gas exploration in the Black Sea. Turkey's premier seismic exploration vessel, the Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa, which is conducting seismic research [against international maritime law] off of the coast of the Republic of Cyprus, will be joined by the Oruç Reis, which will also survey for oil and natural gas in the Mediterranean. Built in a shipyard in Tuzla, the vessel, more than 90 percent of which was domestically manufactured, cost around TL 400 million ($113.67 million).

Cypriot Unification Talks Carry Israeli-Turkish Pipeline Dream - VOA

UNSG Guterres (left), Cypriot president Anastasiades, March 2017

June 27, 2017 3:06 PM
Dorian Jones

Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders are set to sit down Wednesday to once again seek to resolve the nearly five-decade-long division of the island. The success of the talks now carries with it potentially far reaching energy implications for the region, involving Turkey, Israel and the European Union.

Israel and Turkey are in talks to develop a major pipeline that would exploit the massive Leviathan gas reserves discovered off the Israel coast.

Turkish market expects rise in power tariff but not gas - ICIS

21 June 2017 11:58

Aura Sabadus

Turkish energy companies expect an average 4% power tariff hike from as early as July, but a natural gas tariff rise is unlikely to happen until the end of the year at the earliest, according to a survey conducted by ICIS.

The market is expecting an average gas tariff rise of 6.5%.

Tariff increases help guarantee minimum margins for companies active in the gas and power sectors and tend to trigger increases in free-floating electricity and gas prices.

A total of 11 companies responded to the survey and their expectations related to the tariff hike and the likely timeline for the increase are given in the graphs [herein].

Turkey gas exploration raises eyebrows - KATHIMERINI

President Anastasiades of Cyprus (middle) with the leaders of
the other six southern EU nations

12.04.2017 : 21:52
Vassilis Nedos

Tensions between Nicosia and Ankara could escalate next week as there are fears that Turkish plans to perform deep-sea drilling and seismic surveys for oil and natural gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean could be carried out within Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), where the island’s government announced on Tuesday it will conduct its own research.

Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak has said that his country will launch exploration – as early as next week – in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, and that it will be conducting more active two- and three-dimensional seismic surveys in both locations.

Turkish vessel to begin deep-sea drilling in Black Sea - DAILY SABAH

19.3.2017

The seismic detection vessel "Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa," belonging to the Turkish Petroleum Corporation, has started to conduct deep-sea drilling and seismic exploration of oil and natural gas resources in Samsun, Ordu and Giresun in the Black Sea.

The Turkish Petroleum Corporation, which is a subsidiary of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, has begun natural gas and oil exploration in the Black Sea. The ship Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa which anchored in the Samsun Port harbor on Saturday and received logistic support, started to conduct research on Samsun, Ordu and Giresun offshore. Moreover, onboard the vessel, which will conduct research for three months in the region, are 44 crew members, including mostly researchers.

Energy diversification top priority for Turkey, Minister Albayrak says - DAILY SABAH / ANADOLU AGENCY

AA Photo

HOUSTON, TX, 8 March 2018

Turkey's main goal in the energy sector is diversification, Energy Minister Berat Albayrak told a U.S. conference Tuesday.

"More than half of our electricity generation is from gas," he told the IHS CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, Texas. "This can't be sustainable, so we changed this strategy.

"We are aiming to diversify our natural gas portfolio in the following years."

The last 15 years have seen Turkey's GDP rise from $200 billion to more than $800 billion, while public debt to GDP ratio shrunk from 80 percent in 2002 to around 30 percent today.

"You have to invest in energy to meet this growth and your growth targets," Albayrak said.

Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council prioritizes TANAP - ANADOLU AGENCY / DAILY SABAH

BAKU, 24.2.2017

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak attended the third ministerial meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council in Azerbaijan, where he was welcomed by Azeri President Ilham Aliyev.

In addition to cooperation in the energy sector, the meeting addressed the Southern Gas Corridor, consisting of the South Caucasus Pipeline, the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which will transport Azerbaijani natural gas to Europe.

President Aliyev stressed the importance of Turkey's high-level representation in the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council in the admission at the Haydar Aliyev Center in Baku.

Turkey to experience no gas shortages in winter - DAILY SABAH

13.2.2017

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak said on Sunday that all necessary measures have been taken to ensure that Turkey will not experience gas shortages in winter anymore.

Albayrak stated that Turkey's natural gas consumption was increasing due to the country's development, the proliferation of natural gas and the increase in industrial production. He added that seasonality also played a large role in gas consumption.

Turkey reached a record high on the first Monday of 2016 with 232 million cubic meters of natural gas consumption, which was managed without any problems, the Energy Minister said.

Huge Gas Finds Can Keep Europe Warm If the Arguing Stops - BLOOMBERG

TEKMOR note: We see little chance of an Israel-Turkey pipeline without
a resolution of Cyprus' Turkey problem. The East Med pipeline (#3)
makes infinitely more sense politically and geosrategically. 

6 February 2017, 8:00 a.m.

David Wainer

• East Mediterranean is sitting on reservoir of untapped fuel
• But almost every pipeline route requires fix to old feuds

As the helicopter roars its way west from the Tel Aviv coast, two dots emerge from the featureless blue. Closer up, they begin to take shape: Giant platforms for extracting gas from under the Mediterranean Sea.

“A few years ago, there was nothing to see around here,” Yossi Abu yells from the front seats. And soon, according to the Delek Drilling LP CEO, there’ll be more. He points northwards. “Over there, we’ll build a new platform,” he says. “To export gas to Egypt and Turkey.”

Abu makes it sound easy. It won’t be. Hundreds of miles of undersea pipelines will cost billions of dollars and pose a technical challenge for their designers. And even that task is dwarfed by the political engineering required to build stable energy routes through a conflict-ridden region.

LNG stations to be established in Turkey - DAILY SABAH

30.1.2017

The Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) has taken an important step after Turkey's first floating liquefied natural gas plant, a visionary project headed by Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak, was put into use in İzmir's Aliağa district. The EPDK decided to establish LNG stations following a regulatory amendment. Particularly in trucks and buses, the use of LNG, which is the application area, is being promoted to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and encourage environmentally friendly transportation.

In line with the board decision taken by the EPDK, the Natural Gas Market License Regulation will be amended. Wholesale license holders with LNG stations will be able to carry out the sale of LNG for use as fuel in road vehicles at the facilities they establish at a certain addresses. In this way, only license holders will be able to sell LNG at the facilities that are subject to their licenses. Other wholesale companies selling natural gas throughout the country are obliged to take separate licenses if they want to sell LNG used as fuel for road vehicles. The LNG, which is a field of application primarily in vehicles such as trucks and buses, is not used for small vehicles since it is not suitable for storage. With the new regulation, the use of natural gas will be extended and the emission of carbon dioxide will be reduced to promote environmentally friendly transportation.

Turkey to Get Discounted Iranian Gas as Compensation - FINANCIAL TRIBUNE (IRAN)

Saturday, January 28, 2017

Iran, which must pay Turkey $1.9 billion in compensation for overpricing its gas exports to the Eurasian country between 2011 and 2015, will offer discount on future gas supplies to clear the amount, Turkey's energy minister said.

"In the coming years, Turkey will ensure its gas supplies at feasible costs," Berat Albayrak was quoted as saying by Anadolu News Agency, Eqtesad Online reported.

Iran signed a contract in 1996 to export up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Turkey over 25 years. But Turkey's state-owned oil and gas company Botas appealed in March 2012 to the International Court of Arbitration saying that Tehran had overcharged.

Turkey's energy watchdog imposes cap on power prices - REUTERS

Friday, 6 January 2017 12:32 GMTReporting by Orhan Coskun and Akin Aytekin; Writing by Humeyra Pamuk and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Daren Butler; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle

• EPDK sets price cap at 500 lira per MWh
• Energy minister says extra measures taken on infrastructure
• Gas flows from Iran continue, albeit below full capacity (Adds energy minister quotes, background)

ANKARA, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Turkey's energy watchdog EPDK imposed a two-month cap of 500 liras per megawatt hour on electricity prices on Friday after prices rose to their highest level in years.

Turkey's daily natural gas consumption has risen to record highs since December, largely due to colder-than-usual weather triggering higher power consumption.

Turkey's first FSRU opened, ready to boost energy supply security by 20M cbm daily - DAILY SABAH

23.12.2016

Turkey's first ever floating storage re-gasification facility (FSRU) offers alternative supplies to diversify Turkey's energy resources and allows for flexibility in meeting the country's energy needs. (AA)

Turkey's first floating natural gas storage and regasification unit (FSRU), which will compress an additional 20 million cubic meters of gas per day, opened on Friday in Aliağa, İzmir, with a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım

Expected to contribute more than 5 billion cubic meters (BCM) of natural gas to Turkey's annual gas supply, the GDF Suez Neptune plant, Turkey's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU), opened on Friday with a grand ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak.