Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced that the first phase of operations at a gold field in Niger has been completed, marking a milestone in the country’s efforts to produce gold abroad for the first time.

Speaking before the Parliamentary Planning and Budget Committee, Bayraktar emphasized the importance of boosting both domestic and international gold production to reduce Türkiye’s current account deficit, noting that the country imported nearly $24 billion worth of gold last year.

“The shipment of equipment and materials for the production facility is ongoing, and in the coming period we will achieve a first by starting gold production outside our borders,” he said.

He added that exploration activities are also underway in Uzbekistan, targeting gold and other mineral resources.

Turning to natural gas, Bayraktar highlighted a new discovery of 92.4 billion cubic meters this year, valued at approximately $37 billion.

“Production at the Sakarya gas field in the Black Sea has been steadily increasing. Daily output rose from 7 million cubic meters last year to 9.5 million cubic meters with the completion of Phase 1,” he said.

“This supply now meets the annual needs of more than 4 million households,” Bayraktar noted.

He continued, “We are preventing around $1.5 billion in imports each year.”

“Phase 2 will see the deployment of Türkiye’s first floating production platform, Osman Gazi, in 2026,” he said.

“With this step, daily output will rise to 20 million cubic meters,” Bayraktar explained.

“By 2028, with Phase 3, production is expected to reach 45 million cubic meters per day,” he concluded. (Hurriyet Daily News)