Turkey’s oil and gas company BOTAS has completed the expansion works of the storage facility in Silivri, Istanbul. At a time when the security of supply is critical, Turkey now owns one of the biggest gas storage facilities in Europe.
During the opening ceremony, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Fatih Dönmez stated that Turkey’s first and largest natural gas storage facility has been commissioned at full capacity and that it is the largest in Europe among the likes of it. The Minister noted that now that the capacity expansion works are completed, the facility has reached 4.6 billion cubic metres (bcm) of storage capacity.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recalled that the initial phase of the storage project was commissioned in 2007 and the latest expansion works were carried out by undertaking 31,000-metre marine drilling in 18 wells with platforms, three kilometres offshore. Emphasising the importance of the 4.6 bcm capacity reached in Silivri and the 5.4 bcm capacity targeted in Tuz Gölü, President Erdoğan noted that investments will continue until Turkey reaches the most secure level in the exploration and operation as well as storage of natural gas.
The upgraded facility is expected to meet 25 per cent of Turkey’s daily gas needs during winter time.
