ANKARA, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye has announced that the natural gas discovered in the Black Sea will start to flow into its national grid at the end of April, putting into practice one of the country's largest energy projects ever built.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted last weekend that "The gas discovered in the Black Sea will be brought on April 20 in Filyos with a ceremony."
He was referring to the northern port city where an onshore gas processing facility has been constructed and from where gas will be connected to the national distribution system.
"Our team is preparing to land the Black Sea gas on the last day of Ramadan. We are working diligently for a successful operation," Energy Minister Fatih Donmez was quoted as saying by the semi-official Anadolu Agency last week.
The event is to be held less than a month before general elections which are set for May 14, as the incumbent president who has promised cheaper gas for citizens, is seeking reelection.
Erdogan is planning to introduce discounts on gas for the general public at the ceremony, Türkiye's English-language newspaper Daily Sabah reported on Wednesday.
In December, Erdogan estimated Türkiye's deepwater natural gas reserves in the Black Sea to be 710 billion cubic meters, saying that the country's ultimate goal is to declare independence from foreign oil and gas as soon as possible.
About 10 million cubic meters of gas per day is expected to be transferred in the initial phase, which is expected to peak at 40 million cubic meters through 2026, state energy company Turkish Petroleum Corporation predicted in January.
Türkiye discovered natural gas in several locations off its northern coast in 2020 and hopes that it will reduce its gas imports and also contribute to its plans to become a gas trade center for Europe.
Türkiye currently imports most of its gas from Russia, and also from Iran, Azerbaijan and several other suppliers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested the idea of Türkiye becoming a new gas hub, or base for gas supplies, in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Erdogan embraced the idea, hoping it will facilitate purchases of Russian gas by European nations seeking to wean themselves from Russian imports.
He said that Türkiye's goal is to become a global gas trading center at which the reference price for gas is determined.
Experts believe that Türkiye, which has deepening cooperation with Russia, could be a fairly attractive partner for some European countries in search of alternatives to Russian gas despite questions marks about the project.
"This project is not that easy because Türkiye does not have enough gas storage capacity, it takes years to build and serious money is needed," Kerim Has, a Moscow-based energy analyst, told Xinhua.
He said that Ankara has to find solid and stable customers from Europe to re-export a "cocktail" of the gas itself imports.
An energy source familiar with this project told Xinhua on the condition of anonymity that with Türkiye's offshore gas resources, the country will have some commercial options when negotiating supply contracts, thus reducing its energy import bill.
For the next couple of years, the Black Sea gas reserves will be for domestic use only, then export possibilities will be studied, he said.
