Turkey has discovered a new reserve of 75 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas during drilling works in the Black Sea, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.
"With this discovery, we will meet the natural gas needs of homes in Turkey for 3.5 years," Erdogan said during an event in Istanbul.
The discovery, with an economic value of around $30 billion, was found in the Goktepe-3 well at a depth of 3,500 metres, Erdogan said.
Turkey's daily natural gas production at its flagship Sakarya field in the Black Sea has reached around 9.5 million cubic metres, as the country ramps up its energy ambitions both at home and abroad.
Turkey, which imports over 90% of its energy needs, is pushing to cut its import bill and boost supply security by developing domestic resources and expanding international partnerships in oil and gas exploration.
(Reuters - Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun. Editing by Gareth Jones and Mark Potter)