FILYOS /Turkey/, April 13. /TASS/. Turkey will continue to import gas including from Russia, after the launch of the Sakarya gas field in the Black Sea. Melih Khan Bilgin, General Manager of the Turkish Oil Company, said this in an interview with TASS on Thursday.

When asked if Turkey will eventually stop importing gas from other countries, including Russia and Iraq, he replied: "You know that 99.5% of natural gas needs are met by supplies from abroad. Not only from Russia, there are also other suppliers. But, of course, domestic gas will bring some kind of balance. In any case, I am sure that Turkey will both buy and sell gas."

Meanwhile, Bilgin admitted that the supply of gas from Sakarya would allow Turkey to discuss with foreign partners the provision of discounts on gas.

"Of course, domestic gas production will give [Turkey] additional tools and opportunities [to negotiate discounts on gas imported to Turkey. But how all this will be implemented is not on the agenda now," he added. Russia is a key supplier of natural gas to Turkey, supplying more than 40% of all imported gas annually.

On March 29, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced that the ceremony of pumping the first gas to the gas processing plant in Filyos, Zonguldak province, is to take place on April 20, the last day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

According to the authorities, the reserves of gas fields on the Black Sea shelf are about 540 billion cubic meters. The largest of them is Sakarya (more than 400 billion cubic meters). At the initial stage, this field is expected to produce about 10 million cubic meters of gas per day, or from 3.4 billion to 4 billion per year. By 2028, the volume of daily production should be 40 million cubic meters (15 billion cubic meters per year).

It was expected that the Black Sea gas will begin to flow to consumers in Turkey in March. However, due to the earthquakes on February 6, which caused significant damage, the authorities were forced to reconsider these plans.