Turkey is stepping up efforts to increase domestic oil production, and Diyarbakir is emerging as one of the country's new key regions following a significant rise in output from the Gabar oil fields in Sirnak province.
The area in Diyarbakir considered prospective for shale oil reserves covers approximately 7,200 square kilometers, according to Turkey's Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said that the initial work is being carried out in four blocks covering a total area of approximately 600 square kilometers. The potentially prospective geological zone, however, is considerably larger than the area currently under study.
Bayraktar said 2026 would be critical for determining the resources' actual scale and commercial viability.
Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing
The Diyarbakir project differs from the development of Turkey's conventional oil fields because it involves technologies designed to extract oil trapped in dense underground rock formations.
The program will use horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. These technologies make it possible to extract oil and gas from geological formations that are difficult to develop using conventional vertical wells.
Such technologies played a key role in the rapid growth of shale oil and gas production in the United States.
Bayraktar previously said that, if the results are successful, the Diyarbakir project could be a “turning point” for Turkey's oil industry.
Prospective area covers 7,200 square kilometers
The current work covers only around 600 square kilometers, while the geological structure considered prospective for shale oil covers approximately 7,200 square kilometers.
The results from the first wells will therefore be decisive. If commercially recoverable resources are confirmed, exploration and production activities could later be expanded to other parts of the region.
Oil exploration is also continuing in other parts of Diyarbakir, including the Silvan district, as part of Turkey's strategy to identify new domestic hydrocarbon sources.
Attention shifts to Diyarbakir after Gabar
The new project is being carried out against the backdrop of a significant increase in oil production at the Gabar fields in the southeastern province of Sirnak.
According to data from Turkey's Ministry of Energy, daily oil production at Gabar exceeded 81,000 barrels, making the area one of the country's most important onshore oil production centers.
If the Diyarbakir project's commercial viability is confirmed, Turkey could gain another major source of domestic oil, helping reduce the country's dependence on energy imports.
The total volume of commercially recoverable shale oil reserves in Diyarbakir has not yet been established. Therefore, claims circulating on social media that the new resources could be “two or three times greater than Gabar's reserves” cannot currently be considered officially confirmed estimates.
The horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing planned for 2026 are expected to provide key data on the actual scale of Diyarbakir's oil potential and show whether it can be developed into large-scale commercial production.
