Bayraktar: Akkuyu nuclear electricity reaches Turkey in 2027, oil production targets one million barrels daily

Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alp Arslan Bayraktar announced during the sixteenth Energy Summit in Turkey, held in Istanbul, that electricity produced at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant will begin reaching Turkish consumers starting in 2027.

The minister stated that Turkey Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) currently produces 300,000 barrels of oil and gas daily, targeting an increase in production capacity to between 550,000 and 600,000 barrels daily by 2028, with ambitions to reach one million barrels daily over the long term. He indicated that new partnerships and acquisitions could be announced before the end of the current year, adding that "we may receive news and good tidings before year's end" and that the country may acquire companies and forge partnerships and will continue to do so, pointing to the possibility of obtaining new fields in new countries.

Bayraktar noted that oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20 percent of the world's oil passes, experienced traffic disruptions, which led to daily tanker costs rising from 30,000 dollars to more than one million dollars, stressing that "everything we knew has changed and the world is going through a difficult phase."

The minister highlighted that Turkey successfully navigated the oil and supply crisis that erupted since last February without experiencing any significant disruptions, basing this on the comprehensive diversification strategy the country has pursued, including the TürkAkım pipeline, which has been directly supplying the Thrace region — including Istanbul — since 2020, after gas had previously reached it through Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, and Bulgaria.

Bayraktar revealed that his ministry renews the national energy plan every five years, and that on November 5 at Dolmabahçe he will announce the "National Energy Vision 2040," which will center on the transition to electrification across all sectors of the Turkish economy, noting that this vision includes developing local resources, diversifying supplies, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and nuclear power, and that Turkey is seeking through it to achieve energy independence. The minister stressed the urgent need to strengthen international cooperation in the energy sector, saying: "The energy world has passed major tests and continues to face them."