Shale gas, the extraction of which has sparked controversy for ecological reasons, is back on Turkey’s agenda.
Turkey’s shale gas reserves are 679 billion cubic meters, enough to meet its needs for about 14 years, and experts say that there may be intensive investments in this field in 2024.
The Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) had previously published a report titled “The Place of Shale Gas in Global Energy Markets and its Future in Turkey”, in which it stated that there is an intense amount of shale gas especially in the Thrace and Southeastern Anatolia regions. In these two regions, there are approximately 679 billion cubic meters of technically extractable shale gas and 4.7 billion barrels of shale oil.
It was emphasized that shale gas activities have slowed down due to TPAO’s prioritization of Black Sea gas and Gabar oil, but that shale gas activities will accelerate in the coming period. It is stated that finding and commissioning shale gas is more costly than other hydrocarbons.
Action to carry out new studies in this field was also included in the Presidential program. According to the program, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources will drill 2 new shale gas wells in 2024.
Ali Rıza Öner, President of 4T Platform and Renewable Energy Expert, commented on Turkey’s shale gas production as follows: “Turkey is a country capable of extracting this gas with the technological equipment it has today. After descending to the desired depth to release the gas, horizontal fractures are made in the rock layers and this gas can be extracted by injecting pressurized water with additives to the surface. It is located at a depth of 4000-5000 meters below the surface.”
