176 Percent Growth in Natural Gas Production in Turkey

176 Percent Growth in Natural Gas Production in Turkey

Natural gas production in Turkey increased by 176 percent last year compared to the previous year, reaching 2.3 billion cubic meters.

According to data from the “2026 Presidential Annual Program”, government institutions continue exploration and production activities in the fields of minerals, energy resources, and geothermal reserves in order to reduce dependence on imports and meet the raw material needs of domestic industries. Within this framework, the General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA) is active in mining and geothermal fields, while the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) continues oil and natural gas exploration operations.

Forecasts indicate that Turkey’s natural gas imports will rise by 3.4 percent in 2024, reaching 52.2 billion cubic meters. The share of domestic production in the country’s natural gas consumption was recorded at 4.3 percent last year.

In the oil sector, crude oil production increased by 30 percent last year, reaching 5.3 million tons, equivalent to a daily average of 104,031 barrels. Crude oil imports in 2024 are expected to decrease by 4.4 percent to 30 million tons, raising the share of domestic production in total oil supply to 15 percent.

In the mining sector, production rose by 1.05 percent between January and July 2025, while imports increased by 7 percent and exports declined by 0.7 percent. Marble, zinc, copper, feldspar, chromium, lead, and boron were the main export items, while crude oil, natural gas, coal, and iron topped the list of imports.

Production at the Sakarya Gas Field, which began in 2023, has reached a daily capacity of 9.5 million cubic meters. The project aims to achieve an annual production of 15 billion cubic meters by 2028 and to exploit the 785 billion cubic meter reserves of the Black Sea.

In recent years, a total of 867 million barrels of crude oil reserves have been discovered in several oil fields, including Şehit Esma Çöğik, Şehit Teğmen Akdeniz, Şehit Aybüke Yalçın, Mehmet İrfan Güler, Bülent Sadıkoğlu, and Bulmuşlar.

As of September 2025, there were 137 active production wells in the Gabar fields, producing approximately 78,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The total production of this region over the past four years has been estimated at 42.5 million barrels, and drilling operations to increase daily capacity are ongoing.