The work to be done in Diyarbakır excited Minister Bayraktar: It will change the game.

16.01.2026 13:20

The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, stated that the goal is to extract oil and gas trapped in the rock through horizontal drilling planned to be implemented in Diyarbakır in 2026, and if the work is successful, the potential in the region could extend beyond Gabar.

The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, evaluated the issues on the energy agenda in a special interview with TRT News, stating that new steps will be taken in a wide range from renewable energy to oil and natural gas explorations, international collaborations, and mining.

"IT COULD HAVE A GAME-CHANGING IMPACT"

Minister Bayraktar, stating that horizontal drilling will be conducted in Diyarbakır, said, "What we plan to do in Diyarbakır could have a game-changing impact. Here’s how: In Diyarbakır, you would typically conduct vertical drilling in what we call unconventional, or traditional oil exploration; if there is a resource there, you produce it and bring it to the surface. After vertical drilling in Diyarbakır, we will conduct horizontal drilling and extract oil, which we believe is trapped within the rocks; it is primarily oil, but it could also be gas. Actually, our people, our audience often refer to it as 'shale gas' in the media, but we can also use the term 'shale oil.' Therefore, this is the process of bringing the oil trapped within these rocks to the surface using a different production method. So why Diyarbakır in this sense? Because we believe there is potential there. We hope to implement this method in 2026 and start seeing the results. If this issue is successful, if we can succeed in this matter, then the potential there is much greater than that of Gabar. In this sense, I stated that it would have a game-changing impact," he said.

"IF EVERYTHING GOES AS WE WANT."

Continuing his remarks, Minister Bayraktar said, "We see a potential that could double or triple Gabar." He noted, "Gabar, as you know, has a daily production of 80,000 barrels of oil. We are trying to expand Gabar a bit more towards the northeast side by adding new explorations, new wells, and new reserves here. Therefore, we have a goal to further increase production. But Diyarbakır is currently where we are implementing the project I mentioned, and I am talking about a program of 24 wells, a 3-4 year program, meaning 2026, 27, 28. With these 24 horizontal drilling and fracturing wells, we are actually testing 4 fields, 4 blocks, covering an area of 600 square kilometers. However, when you look at the potential in that region, it is approximately 10-12 times that. I mean, in an area of 7,200 square kilometers, I am talking about the north of Bismil in Diyarbakır, there will actually be a field 10-12 times larger than the area where we will conduct this test and work. If we can succeed there, we will carry this to other areas, and we see a potential that could double or triple Gabar, hopefully if everything goes as we want," he expressed.

Highlights from Minister Bayraktar's statements;

"Currently, our domestic and international oil production is around 180,000 barrels per day. I said that the year we will write a new growth story, especially in Turkey's oil and natural gas exploration, has begun, and 2026 is also the 10th year of our National Energy Mining Policy. In other words, we are transitioning to a National Energy Mining Policy 2.0. Our goal here is as follows; by the time we reach 2028, Turkey Petroleum will become a company producing approximately 550,000 barrels of oil daily with its current production capacity from both domestic and international sources, producing oil and natural gas. Turkey's daily need is approximately 2 million barrels; I am referring to oil and gas, when we equate the two. Our next target, starting from this year, is to make Turkey Petroleum a company producing 1 million barrels. That is, in terms of natural gas and oil production.

"WE WILL ANNOUNCE NEW PARTNERSHIPS IN THE COMING DAYS"

To be able to write this story; new discoveries, hopefully the results of the work we will do in Somalia, but another topic is that in 2026 we will tell our nation new things related to this, especially in Libya, Iraq, and perhaps Kazakhstan, in different geographies, we will announce new fields, new collaborations, and new partnerships in the coming days. One of them, as you know, was discussed last week in Istanbul with ExxonMobil and Turkey Petroleum to implement joint projects in the Black Sea, Mediterranean, and various parts of the world. A new agreement is coming in February with another American company in partnership with Turkey Petroleum. Because they also have goals related to the fields in Turkey.

Most of these companies are actually ones we have worked with in the past. We had a similar collaboration with Exxon. However, what happens is that technology is advancing. In essence, the drilling and exploration technology remains the same, but now artificial intelligence has entered our work very intensively. In the imaging work, that is, in our seismic work, we can obtain much clearer images or evaluations. Therefore, it is beneficial to revisit a place you have previously visited with a different perspective by incorporating these new technologies. Thus, hopefully, we will obtain different results from these.

"WE ARE ESSENTIALLY TAKING AN X-RAY OF THE EARTH"

Essentially, we want the natural gas or oil source underground to be preserved in some way so that there is a reserve there, and we can extract that reserve through drilling and other methods. Leakage means that there are some fractures, and that the source is dispersing from those fractures to different places. In this regard, I want to say that "we do not want this." But I repeatedly emphasize that this work truly requires very clear international standards and very important technical work. Therefore, what we are doing here is that we are essentially taking an X-ray of the earth, so to speak, with the two-dimensional seismic we call. After these studies, sometimes we need to look in more detail, so we move to three-dimensional seismic, meaning we are trying to take the MRI of the work. In that three-dimensional seismic, we conduct very serious work, and based on our friends' predictions and analyses, we may need a biopsy. I am using a bit of medical terminology now, but it is a concept that everyone is quite familiar with. After an MRI, we need a biopsy, a drilling, and after conducting that drilling, we actually go to that good news. In other words, we need to ensure that we do not break this chain and carry out all the necessary work in this chain according to international standards. Therefore, because we should not be embarrassed after what we say, ultimately.

Now, what we are doing specifically in Rize, in Çayeli, and in the rest of the Black Sea; what we did in Somalia; the three-dimensional seismic, for example, was completed in Somalia around May, June last year.

"AFTER THE SEABED, WE WILL CONDUCT A DRILLING OF 2500 METERS"

In 2026, we will conduct 6 drillings in the Black Sea; there is the Western Black Sea, the Central Black Sea, and the Eastern Black Sea. Our work is either well-based or land-based, and our friends are doing it. Let's say we can start this in April 2026, or depending on the condition of the ships, we might push it to the last quarter of the year, but ultimately we will conduct a drilling there. Off the coast of Çayeli, at a location about 55 kilometers offshore, there is a sea depth of approximately 1,480-1,500 meters. Yesterday I was in Rize, and everyone told me it was probably 50-60 meters or 70 meters, but everyone is focusing on places close to the shore. However, what we see from the seismic data is that there is a sea depth of 1500 meters at a distance of 55 kilometers from the shore, and after the seabed, we will conduct a drilling of approximately 1500 to 2000 meters, up to 2500 meters.

RARE EARTH ELEMENTS

Rare earth elements have become much more important. As the name suggests, these are elements that are rarely found in the soil. We have identified 10 of the 17 known elements in Eskişehir, in Beylikova. It is one of the most important reserves in the world, but the essence of this work is that purification technology or refining technology is very important. The work we are currently doing there, I am talking about a process that has almost lasted 10 years; we have conducted 59,000 tests and analyses. We have drilled approximately 125 kilometers in that area. And as a result of these rare earth elements we found, remember that in 2023 our President opened our pilot facility there. We currently have a pilot facility with a capacity of 1200 tons, which can produce 1200 tons per year. But now we are entering an important process in 2026, where we will transition this to an industrial scale. In other words, we will produce approximately 10,000 tons of rare earth oxide per year; this is actually a marketable product. "