BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 7
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources did not allow the US Aladdin Middle East Ltd to conduct oil and gas exploration in one of the country's provinces, the ministry told Trend on April 7.
The company applied to the ministry for conducting oil and gas exploration in Turkey’s Siirt province in a total area of 15,298 hectares on July 11, 2019.
The ministry has not disclosed the reason for the refusal.
The US Aladdin Middle East received a license to expand the territory for oil and gas exploration in Turkey in February 2020.
“The license was issued to Aladdin Middle East Ltd to expand the territory by 93,391 hectares in Bartin and Zonguldak provinces,” the ministry said.
Aladdin Middle East Ltd company previously obtained a license for oil and gas exploration in Diyarbakir province in a 15,281-hectare area.
Thus, the company will conduct oil and gas exploration in a 108,672-hectare area.
In 2018, 1,889 exploration wells were drilled in Turkey. During the reporting period, the total depth of exploration drilling exceeded 3,960 kilometers.
Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) drilled 943 exploratory wells with a total depth of over 2,290 kilometers.
The ministry noted that 61 wells with a total depth of 92.6 kilometers were drilled by the General Directorate of the Mineral Research and Exploration of Turkey (MTA), while 144 wells with a total depth of 167.3 kilometers were drilled by other domestic companies.
As many as 546 exploratory wells with a total depth of 990.47 kilometers were drilled by foreign companies, while 195 wells were drilled by joint ventures and consortiums.
From January through December 2018, 495 deposits were discovered by TPAO, eight by MTA, 21 by other domestic companies, 304 by foreign companies and 91 by joint consortiums.
According to the report, 91,991 areas with hydrocarbons were discovered in Turkey as of 2018.
The law allowing carrying out oil exploration in forests and national parks entered into force in Turkey in April 2014.
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