Invest News DetailPresident Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has today officially disclosed that Türkiye has made a discovery of significant natural gas reserves in the Black Sea following his pre-announcement midweek that he would soon deliver good news that would usher in a new era for the country. Fatih, Türkiye's first-ever drillship owned by the state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), set sail from Istanbul for a drilling mission in an exploration zone known as Tuna-1, also known as the Sakarya Exploration Zone, in the Black Sea on May 29, marking the 567th anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul.Accordingly, Fatih has discovered proven reserves of 320 billion cubic meters of natural gas, with all testing, analyzing, and engineering works already completed – a proof that more discoveries are in the pipeline as part of the first and largest-ever natural gas discovery in Türkiye's history. “This is only a small portion of the vast reserves," said President Erdoğan in his address at the announcement ceremony. "Türkiye, once a net importer of energy, is now poised to assume all extraction works itself. It will thus incorporate natural gas into the energy system based on domestic and national sources. We aim to commence utilization of the new Black Sea natural gas in 2023, and are looking forward to hearing good news from Mediterranean drilling works as well," President Erdoğan added. Dubbed a “turning point" for Türkiye by the Minister of Treasury and Finance Berat Albayrak, the discovery could help Türkiye cut its dependence on energy imports once the gas has been commercially extracted.