The Turkish Petroleum Corporation has announced the discovery of an oil field in the Şırnak province in southeastern Turkey, containing one billion barrels, marking the largest onshore oil discovery in the country.
The corporation stated late Wednesday that it has drilled to a depth of 2,771 meters so far, finding a reservoir of light oil with further exploratory potential in the area.
It pointed out that the well, named Aybuke Yalgin-1, is located 20 kilometers northwest of the central district of Cizre in the province and is currently producing about 10,000 barrels of oil per day.
The state oil company confirmed that it will drill consecutive appraisal wells in the region and plans to develop the entire field by the end of the year. It set a production target of 100,000 barrels per day, which is more than double Turkey's current oil production.
Turkey, which produces little oil and gas, imports nearly all of its energy needs. According to official data, it consumed 246 million barrels of imported crude oil in 2022, in addition to 29 million barrels of domestically produced crude oil.
Turkey relies on imports from Russia, Azerbaijan, and Iran, along with liquefied natural gas imports. Ankara is also developing a natural gas field in the Black Sea with reserves of 710 billion cubic meters.
