Turkey’s First Floating Gas Platform ‘Osman Gazi’ Arrives At Black Sea Port

Turkey’s first floating natural gas production platform, Osman Gazi, has arrived at Filyos Port on the Black Sea coast. The platform, which will remain in service for 20 years, is expected to double the gas output from the Sakarya field from 9 million to 20 million cubic meters per day.

Once operational by mid-2026, Osman Gazi will process up to 10.5 million cubic meters of natural gas daily and transfer as much as 10 million cubic meters per day to shore. Officials said this increase will be enough to meet the natural gas needs of around 8 million households across the country.

The processed gas will be sent onshore through a 161-kilometer-long pipeline and delivered to the national grid in a ready-to-use form. According to Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, this project will strengthen Turkey’s energy security by reducing reliance on imported energy.

Turkey currently imports over 90 percent of its energy needs. Over the past few years, the country has stepped up its efforts to develop domestic natural gas resources in the Black Sea.

As part of this strategy, the state-run energy company TPAO purchased the FPSO from BW Offshore in 2023. The vessel was brought to Turkey aboard the heavy transport ship Boka Vanguard, owned by Boskalis, and arrived last September.

Türkiye’nin ilk yüzer üretim platformu #OsmanGazi, Filyos Limanı’na ulaştı! pic.twitter.com/ytfInElRFe

— Alparslan Bayraktar (@aBayraktar1) May 31, 2025

After arriving in Turkey, the platform was taken to a shipyard in the city of Çanakkale for technical upgrades and refurbishment. It was placed in dry dock on September 26, 2024. After months of renewal work, it was floated out of the dock on May 27, 2025.

Following its float-out, the vessel left Çanakkale for Istanbul and completed its passage through the Bosphorus Strait on May 29. On the same day, the 572nd anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul, a formal send-off ceremony was held at the Presidential Dolmabahçe Office.

The event was attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Minister Bayraktar. The vessel then continued its journey and reached Filyos Port on the Black Sea coast on Saturday.

The FPSO is a massive structure, measuring 298.5 meters in length, 56 meters in width, and 29.5 meters in depth. It can accommodate up to 140 personnel onboard.

The country has been expanding its offshore fleet in recent years. Turkey launched its first drillship Fatih in 2017, followed by Yavuz in 2018, Kanuni in 2020, and Abdülhamid Han in 2021. It was Fatih that discovered the Sakarya gas field in August 2020.

Turkey also announced the discovery of an additional 75 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the Black Sea. This reserve was found in April 2025 during drilling at the Goktepe-3 well, located 3,500 meters below sea level.

References: turkiyetoday, dailysabah

Source: Maritime Shipping News