Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) has made the largest crude oil discovery onshore Turkey with a find estimated to hold 1 billion barrels of crude, the company said.
The discovery was made in the southeastern province of Sirnak, which borders the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region in Iraq and Syria.
Turkish Petroleum has drilled an exploration well and has encountered more than 162 meters of light oil-bearing reservoir.
The country is also targeting natural gas independence with recent huge finds of gas in the Black Sea and the start of gas transmission from the Sakarya Gas Field last month.
In April, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez told broadcaster CNN Türk that the volumes of natural gas that Turkey had found so far in the Black Sea were worth in excess of $500 billion. The huge gas finds would be enough to supply all households in the country for 35 years, or to cover total Turkish natural gas consumption, including from industry, for 15 to 20 years, the minister added.
