Natural gas reserves found in İstanbul

Natural gas reserves have been found in İstanbul's Silivri district, Turkish media reported on Tuesday. An exploratory drilling operation headed by Merty Energy has reached a natural gas deposit at a depth of some 500 meters in the Çayırlık-1 field, the company's officials said. Merty Energy CEO Ongun Yoldemir was quoted by Reuters as saying, "Drillers will also look for natural gas deposits in the Damlıca-1 field after tests are completed." Any discoveries made by oil companies and the state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) are sure to come as welcome news to Turkey, which imports nearly all of its natural gas and is looking for ways to lessen dependency on its foreign suppliers. According to a report released last year by British Petroleum (BP), Turkey was ranked third after China and Greece for rising natural gas costs, at 17.3 percent, with Turkey responsible for 1.4 percent of world natural gas consumption. Oil use also increased by 5.8 percent in 2011 compared to 2010.