- Turkey is capable of developing resources in Thrace region, says CEO of Statoil
Statoil is confident that taking a long term approach will help develop gas resources in Turkey's Thrace Basin, which 'hopefully will be fruitful in the future', said Eldar Saetre, CEO of the Norwegian energy giant Statoil on Monday.
He said that Statoil follows the environment in Turkey for its joint operations in this region with Canadian energy company Valeura in its search for gas in the Thrace Basin.
Saetre told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview that Statoil takes a long view on oil and gas exploration while following current affairs in Turkey very closely.
"We take a long view on oil and gas, and I'm confident that it will also serve Turkey in its ability to develop its resources. I think the resources in Thrace are good and hopefully it will be fruitful in the future," he said.
In May, Canada's Valeura Energy and Norway's Statoil announced their agreement to explore natural gas in the Thrace Basin.
According to the deal with Statoil, the licenses for exploration will cover an area of approx. 540 square kilometers in proximity to existing infrastructure in a region where gas has been produced since the 1920s.
Valeura Energy is a Canada-based public company engaged in the exploration, development and production of petroleum and natural gas in Turkey. The company’s shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada under the trading symbol VLE.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration in 2013, shale gas and oil potential across Turkey is about 23 trillion cubic feet of gas and 4.7 billion barrels of oil. This includes potential in western Turkey in the Thrace Basin and in the east in the Anatolian Basin.
By Murat Temizer in Stavanger, Norway
Anadolu Agency
murat.temizer@aa.com.tr