Turkey’s estimated shale gas reserves total 1.8 trillion cu m, state news agency Anatolia Wednesday quoted the president of Turkish Association of Petroleum Geologists Ismail Bahtiyar as stating.
Bahtiyar was reported as saying Turkey has considerable potential for producing shale gas from areas in the southeast of the country and in the European province of Thrace.
Turkey’s shale gas potential has excited considerable speculation in the local media following a joint venture agreement signed last year between Shell and state upstream operator TPAO to prospect for shale gas in rock formations in the Diyarbakir region of southeast Turkey.
Reports have claimed reserves as being anything between a few Bcm and 20 Tcm.
Shell is expected to begin drilling test wells later this year.
Turkish energy minister Taner Yildiz last week denied reports of major shale gas finds in the Konya, Ankara and Kirsehir regions stating that as yet there have been no confirmed finds of commercial reserves of shale gas in Turkey.
–David O’Byrne, newsdesk@platts.com
–Edited by Maurice Geller, maurice_geller@platts.com