Energy Market Reviewed for 2020

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez said that one of the most significant developments this year was the Fatih drilling vessel's discovery of 405 billion cubic metres of natural gas in the Black Sea, and that important steps were also taken in renewable energy. "With only the renewable installed capacity we brought into operation in 2020, we surpassed the total renewable installed capacity of 21 countries in Europe," he stated.

Dönmez evaluated developments in energy during 2020 in remarks to an Anadolu Agency correspondent. Noting that 2020 witnessed unforgettable developments from a world historical perspective, Dönmez said that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic intensified again in the final quarter of the year, but progress in vaccine and drug research enabled entry into 2021 with hope.

Natural gas discovery

Emphasizing that the Fatih's 405 billion cubic metre discovery was one of the important news items not only for the energy world but also for the country's agenda in 2020, Minister Dönmez said, "Turkey's 50-year effort, determination and perseverance in deepwater exploration evolved in a completely different direction with the discovery we achieved in the Tuna-1 well. The news our nation had long awaited arrived with glad tidings, hopes and joy. The Tuna-1 well is a beginning for us. Our work in the Sakarya Gas Field continues."

Historic production from Turkish Petroleum

Emphasizing that intense work has been carried out not only at sea but also on land, Dönmez said that Turkish Petroleum reached its highest domestic and international production in the company's history this year.

Minister Dönmez recalled that the first week of 2020 began with the commissioning of TürkAkım, which is significant from an international natural gas cooperation perspective, and continued as follows:

"Domestically, we strengthened our natural gas infrastructure with natural gas storage, FSRU (floating LNG storage and regasification unit) and LNG facilities. The expansion work of our Tuz Gölü Natural Gas Storage Facility continued at full pace this year. We completed the procurement of our Ertuğrul Gazi FSRU vessel. God willing, our vessel will arrive in Turkey after the start of the year and will provide important flexibility to our natural gas supply security. Thanks to all these infrastructure investments and international projects, we met the record consumption of 6.7 billion cubic metres in January of this year without any restrictions or interruptions."

Rise in renewable energy

Noting that total installed capacity rose to 95,500 megawatts with approximately 4,500 megawatts of additional installed capacity this year, Dönmez said that the highest monthly electricity generation from domestic sources since 2000 was achieved in April. Dönmez recalled that on 12 April, solar and wind energy met 34% of hourly total production, and noted that on 24 May, 90% of electricity generation was met from domestic and renewable sources.   Source