Baku, Azerbaijan, May 16
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
The Norwegian oil company Statoil has entered a binding letter agreement into two exploration licenses in the Thrace region in the European north-western part of Turkey, said a message posted on Statoil's website on May 16.
"Statoil will have a 50-percent interest in the Banarli licenses, while the operator Valeura Energy Inc., a Canadian exploration company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, will keep the remaining 50 percent," said the message.
The work program in the licenses consists of several phases, where the first includes the commitment of drilling one exploration well, with planned spudding late 2016 or early 2017.
"The exploration phase will test unconventional gas potential in the deep part of the basin," said the message. "The exploration licenses cover an area of approximately 540 square kilometers."
Turkey is seeking local and foreign partners for joint exploration and development of shale gas fields in the country.
Currently, Turkey is already cooperating with Royal Dutch Shell to develop the shale gas deposits in the Turkish province of Diyarbakir.
Earlier, the Turkish Association of Petroleum Geologists (TPJD) reported that shale gas reserves in Turkey are estimated at 1.8 trillion cubic meters, which is enough for the country for 40 years with an annual consumption at 45 billion cubic meters.
The largest reserves of shale gas are found mainly in South-Eastern Turkey, as well as in the provinces of Edirne, Istanbul, Ankara and the country's Black Sea coast.
Turkey has launched an active search for oil and gas fields in order to reduce dependence on foreign supplies.
Edited by EA
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov