Currently, 184 wells are operating in the Gabar region / photo ua.depositphotos.comTurkey, which is one of the main buyers of "black gold" in Russia, has discovered about 135 million barrels of oil in two new fields in the southeast of the country. This was announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after a government meeting, reports Hürriyet Daily News.
According to Erdogan, production at the new Gaziler and Çardaklı fields began back in October. Their development should help Turkey increase daily oil production in the Gabar region to more than 100,000 barrels in the second half of 2027.
It is noted that 135 million barrels is a preliminary estimate of the total volume of oil in the subsurface. It does not mean that all of this resource can be extracted. The Turkish authorities have not yet published an estimate of the recoverable reserves of the new fields, nor separate production figures for each of them. The theoretical value of 135 million barrels is approximately $12.4 billion.
Currently, 184 wells are operating in the Gabar region, located in Şırnak province, providing production of about 84,000 barrels of oil per day. This is approximately 8% of Turkey's total oil consumption.
"Thanks to the work on developing the fields in Gabar and the commissioning of new wells, daily oil production in the region will increase by 30%," Erdogan noted.
It is expected that in the second half of 2027, the number of active wells in the region will increase to approximately 230.
Turkey's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar confirmed the discovery of the fields and production figures. He linked the expansion of oil production to the implementation of the national energy strategy through 2040 and the country's aspiration to achieve energy independence.
In total, 75.4 million barrels of oil have already been extracted in the Gabar region. According to Erdogan and Bayraktar, this has helped reduce Turkey's current account deficit by $6 billion.
The Turkish leader noted that production at the level of 120,000 barrels per day at current prices would bring the country's economy an additional $4.4 billion annually. At the same time, he did not specify when Turkey could reach such a figure.
Erdogan emphasized that regional conflicts negatively affect energy security and the stability of resource supplies. According to him, Ankara is trying to reduce these risks through the diversification of supplier countries, transportation routes, and energy sources.
Against the backdrop of economic growth, population increase, and rising living standards, demand for energy resources in the country will continue to grow. Therefore, the government is betting on domestic oil and natural gas production, expanding geological exploration and drilling.
The state Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) began production in the Cudi-Gabar area at the Şehit Esma Çevik field in 2021. In 2022, work was expanded to the Şehit Teğmen Akdeniz field, and in 2023 to the Şehit Aybüke Yalçın field. In 2024, three more fields were added to them – Mehmet İrfan Güler, Bulmuşlar, and Bülent Sadioğlu. In 2025, development of the Ağaçyurdu field began.
Bayraktar noted that the improvement of the security situation in the region allowed TPAO to conduct seismic research and drilling more actively.
Turkey buys Russian oil and petroleum products