Turkey to Spend $1.5 bn on Unconventional Oil, Gas Exploration

Turkey will spend around $1.5 billion in unconventional oil and gas exploration projects in two years, according to the head of Turkey's directorate general for petroleum affairs.

"Sixteen energy companies applied for 116 licences for new hydrocarbon fields since June 16 and now we will evaluate the applications,” Selami Incedalci, head of directorate general for petroleum affairs, told Anadolu Agency on Monday.

The news agency added that Turkey could also ink a contract with Halliburton for gas exploration.

An agreement is expected to be signed in September or October, Turkish Petroleum's deputy director general Besim Şişman said on Monday. 

"Signing a deal is important, but what is really significant is proving that natural gas can be extracted and produced by unconventional means (fracking) in Turkey," Şişman said.

Search for natural gas and oil by unconventional means is currently concentrated in Diyarbakır in Eastern Turkey and the Thrace region, said Anadolu Agency.