Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell and state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corporation will start drilling for oil and gas in the western Black Sea this month, Turkey’s Energy Minister Taner Y?ld?z has said.

Speaking at a ceremony in Istanbul marking the launch of the joint project on Tuesday, Y?ld?z said he was optimistic about its outcome, highlighting that Romania has recently discovered meaningful gas reserves in the region.

Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) and the the Anglo-Dutch oil-and-gas company are going to  invest USD 300M in the project which involves prospecting for oil and gas at depths in excess of  2,000 m.

According to Hurriyet Daily News, the region of exploration is close to the area where Exxon and OMV made a considerable gas discovery in 2012.

Three platform-supported drilling vessels will conduct the exploratory operations. A land supply base will also be built at Haydarpasa Port in Istanbul.

Currently, Turkey meets 5% of its oil needs and 2% of gas needs from its own resources.

Y?ld?z noted a total of 45 companies made 226 drillings last year. Around 90 exploration wells and 98 production wells were opened with a hitting ratio of around 33%, allowing Turkey to save USD 1.9B from its oil import bill.

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