Visiting Filyos Port, Minister Bayraktar inspected the Osman Gazi Floating Production Platform and received information from officials. Bayraktar said the platform would be sent toward the location in the Black Sea where it will operate for 20 years, around the end of October.
Bayraktar said work on the platform had reached its final stage and described the facility, where approximately 7,000 people are working, as Türkiye's largest construction site. He noted that the floating production platform functions as an industrial facility made up of 21 separate factories.
Bayraktar said Osman Gazi would be sent to its operating location in the Black Sea after the reactivation process was completed, announcing that the platform would flare its first gas at the end of this year. He said this would complete the second phase of the Sakarya Gas Field project.
Production will increase at the Sakarya Gas Field
Bayraktar said production during the first phase of the field, carried out through onshore facilities, was sufficient to meet the natural gas needs of approximately 4 million households and that this production was continuing.
Bayraktar announced that the Osman Gazi platform would produce an additional 10 million cubic meters of natural gas per day during the second phase, saying the goal was to meet the natural gas needs of 8 million households from Türkiye's own resources through total production.
Bayraktar said the gas produced by the platform each day would have an economic value of approximately $10 million at current prices, adding that the facility would contribute $3.5 billion annually to Türkiye's economy.
Technical work continues on the platform
Bayraktar said approximately 6 kilometers of cabling was being installed each day on the Osman Gazi platform and that the facility contained a total of 642 kilometers of electrical cable. He also said approximately 30 kilometers of piping work would be carried out on the platform.
Bayraktar announced that Osman Gazi's sister platform would arrive in 2028 and that production would quadruple once it was commissioned. He said work on the project was continuing.
Emphasis on energy supply security
Bayraktar said the world was facing a major energy crisis and that increases in natural gas and oil prices were creating financial impacts in addition to affecting supply security. He said Türkiye's natural gas storage facilities had been made ready for winter and that alternative plans were being prepared against supply disruptions.
Bayraktar said fuel needed to be supplied for approximately 32–33 million vehicles, natural gas for 22 million households and electricity for 42 million subscribers in Türkiye, noting that different options were being studied against possible supply disruptions.
Measures targeting energy routes in the Black Sea
Bayraktar said the Black Sea was important for energy routes and that the security of the natural gas pipelines from Russia, as well as the Blue Stream and TurkStream pipelines, was crucial.
Bayraktar said he considered it important to reach an agreement to ensure that energy infrastructure between Russia and Ukraine did not become a target. He said the Turkish Naval Forces and the Coast Guard Command had taken measures against mines and unmanned surface vessels that could pose a threat to ships operating in the Black Sea, adding that the work was being carried out during a risky period requiring caution.
