Turkish Petroleum Offshore Technology Centre AS (TP-OTC) has contracted international offshore service provider Subsea7 to provide inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) services at the Sakarya offshore gas field. Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) is operator and 100% owner of Sakarya, which was discovered in 2020 in the Black Sea some 170 km north of Zongudak. Production at Sakarya began in 2023.

Subsea7 described the contract as sizeable and valued it at between $50mn and $150mn. The project, which includes engineering and project management that will be organised through the company’s Aberdeen and Istanbul offices, will be carried out this year and in 2026. Equipment supply and construction will be carried out from TP-OTCs light construction vessel Mukavemet, Subsea7 said in a statement.  

“We look forward to continuing to work alongside TP-OTC to optimize gas production from the Sakarya field and strengthen our long-term presence in Türkiye,” said Hani El Kurd, senior vice president of UK and global inspection, repair and maintenance at Subsea7.

TPAO last September acquired a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel for the Sakarya field. The FPSO is expected to make a significant contribution to Turkey’s efforts to boost its domestic natural gas production.

Sakarya has been producing at 6mn cubic metres per day and the FPSO is expected to contribute to output increasing to 10 mcm per day during the first quarter of 2025, thus meeting some 7% of Turkey’s natural gas demand. Output will later reach 20 mcm per day in 2026. Sakarya is estimated to hold a gas reserve of 710bn cubic metres.

Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said last week in the central province of Sivas that Turkey is working to produce and distribute its own natural gas domestically.

“Thank God, our production is increasing every day,” Bayraktar said in a speech. “God willing, by 2028, we will use our own natural gas in 20mn households in Turkey. Our goal is to make our country independent in energy under the leadership of our president in the 'Century of Turkey’,” he said.

“We are now providing our own natural gas to 3mn households with the natural gas we produce ourselves,” Bayraktar said, according to a report in the Daily Sabah. “By 2028, we will be using our own natural gas in 20mn households in all of Turkey,” he said.

“In Şırnak, Gabar,” he added, “which was once associated with terrorism, we have become the producer of Turkey’s highest quality oil, exceeding 71,000 barrels per day (bpd). Our sole aim is to make our country independent in energy and to keep the foreign currency we pay abroad for energy, at home. We want to meet our energy needs with our own resources," the minister said.

Turkey consumes around 50 bcm of natural gas annually, which accounts for a quarter of Turkey’s energy mix. Imports account for most of Turkey’s natural gas supply and domestic production is limited. Sakarya is the country’s largest producing field. Turkey historically relies on Russian gas monopoly Gazprom to supply 15-20 bcm of gas every year. Other imports come from Azerbaijan, Iran and through deliveries of LNG.