Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortaklığı

The Turkish Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) has dismissed reports in certain Turkish media outlets speculating that the company will be taken over by Russia's Gazprom.

The claims suggesting that BOTAŞ may be sold or transferred to a country or to a company are untrue," BOTAŞ said in a statement.

Türkiye will conduct oil exploration activities in the eastern Black Sea, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez has said, adding that finding oil in this area is likely.

The oil reserves found in the southeastern Gabar area are big enough to meet 12 percent of Türkiye's needs, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez has said.

The daily production capacity at the Gabar field will be around 100,000 barrels, Dönmez said, adding that the output will increase to some 180,000 barrels.

As efforts to get the natural gas found in the Black Sea to residences at the end of March continue, there is reason to be hopeful for more reserves, according to Melih Han Bilgin, general manager of Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO).

The 36-kilometer pipeline and measurement station that will transfer the natural gas extracted from the Black Sea to the national system has been completed.

For the passage of the pipeline, many obstacles such as roads, rivers and swamps were overcome, while an "automatic welding machine" was used for the first time for "zero error."

Athens is bracing for a prolonged period of tension this summer in view of Turkish preparations to conduct exploratory drilling from the north of Rhodes all the way to the southeast of Crete in 24 plots that are included in a map published in the Turkish government's gazette outlining areas where Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has applied for exploration permits. 

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has sent letters to top EU officials protesting over Turkey's activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and the publication in the Turkish government's gazette of a map outlining areas of the Greek continental shelf where Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has applied for exploration permits.

The foreign ministers of Greece, Cyprus and Jordan held a video conference on Wednesday to discuss ongoing developments in the Eastern Mediterranean region and other issues.

In a statement, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said he had briefed his counterparts over Turkey's "increasingly provocative rhetoric and behavior which is destabilizing the entire region."

Ankara on Tuesday responded to a complaint from Athens concerning a map published in the Turkish government's gazette outlining areas where Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has applied for exploration licenses, including several within Greece's continental shelf, by insisting that these areas are within the boundaries Turkey has submitted to the United Nations.

The publication in the Turkish government's gazette of a map outlining areas of the Greek continental shelf where Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has applied for exploration permits has drawn an angry response from Athens, which warned it is fully prepared to respond in the event that Ankara chooses to conduct exploratory activities in these areas.