Azerbaijan, Baku, 22 May / Trend A.Taghiyeva /
Turkey is searching for local and foreign partners for joint exploration and development of shale gas deposits in the country, Turkey's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said, the İhlas agency reported on Wednesday.
According to the Minister, Turkey is already cooperating with Shell in the development of shale gas deposits in the province of Diyarbakir.
"We intend to continue to work on the development of shale gas deposits and look forward to proposals from local and foreign companies with regards to cooperation in this area," Yildiz said.
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 of raw materials 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 Black Sea coast.
Turkey has launched an active search for oil and gas fields in order to reduce dependence on foreign supplies. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, the country has paid $60.1 billion for the import of electricity in 2012 which is 11 per cent more than in 2011.