TPAO and its partner Chevron started location activities for the Cudi-1 well to explore oil, the agency reported citing TPAO officials.
The preparations began for Cudi-1, which will be located 25 kilometers from Silopi town in Sirnak, the officials said, adding that once location activities were completed next month, a drilling team would start to work in the region.
Turkey is also holding talks with Chevron on conducting oil exploration in the Black Sea.
Ali Agaoglu, president of the Agaoglu Group, said: "The Agaoglu Group is interested in contributing to the development of the wind energy industry in Turkey and this 33MW project is the first phase of a larger future project."
The Vestas Turkey office was officially established in January 2008. The office handles sales, project management and service activities in the country. As per 31 December 2008, Vestas has installed 70 turbines in Turkey corresponding to a capacity of around 170 MW.
RWE said that it will own 70% in the joint venture company, which already holds pre-license rights for the power plant. Initially, the main task of the joint venture company is to continue the project development work and further advance the project.
A final investment decision is expected by the end of 2009 and construction of the CCGT power plant could start in early 2010.
With the steady growth of the economy, incentives offered by the government and an increasing demand from entrepreneurs, banks in Turkey have extended billions of dollars to energy companies within the last five years, the Anatolia news agency reported.
Emre Alcan, General Coordinator of ALCAN, said the Turkish energy sector continues to be the focus of domestic and foreign investors despite the global turmoil.Experts from the energy market stated that loans granted to the energy sector are expected to amount to $130 billion in 2020. Government incentives and the support of banks have enabled companies to continuously introduce new projects, particularly in the development of renewable energy, which focuses on wind, solar and geothermal energy. It is expected that the energy sector will be less affected by the general negative trends felt in the ongoing global financial crisis.
Garanti Bankası has provided close to $1.5 billion in loans for energy projects in Turkey to date, and the bank expects a distribution of $500 million in loans to the industry.
Officials from İş Bankası said banks have increasingly granted loans for energy projects because of increasing market demand. Today, loans are mostly provided for hydroelectricity projects, while support for wind power endeavors is rising since Turkey has the highest potential for wind power in Europe. İş Bankası officials said the amount of loans they provided for energy projects reached $790 million for 21 projects in Turkey. "We expect this number to reach $1 billion with some new loan applications that are currently being evaluated," they noted.
Experts from the energy sector suggested that Turkey should make around $130 billion in energy investments from now until 2020, and they anticipate that banks in Turkey will continue their support for the projects.
Mert Güvenen from Yapı Kredi said they similarly have extended around $1.3 billion in loans for energy projects in Turkey, the majority of which were hydroelectricity projects, and they plan to give loans for some wind power projects shortly. He said Yapı Kredi gave priority to energy investments when extending loans and will continue to do so. In regard to the amount of new loans they expect to grant to energy projects, he said spending authorization depends on the developments in global markets.
Officials from Vakıfbank said since the beginning of 2009, the bank has extended $324 million in loans for 15 energy projects and that the bank had recently received 20 new loan requests for energy investments which will require $60-70 million this year. Stressing that capacity utilization rates and industrial production declined in Turkey due to the crisis, they said energy investments will be negatively effected in the middle and long term. Emphasizing that energy investments have been and will continue to be in the limelight, Turkish and international banks alike are interested in providing loans for such projects.
Ömer Baktır from Halkbank said the institution was currently evaluating loan requests for 21 energy projects worth 190 million euros, and the bank expects to grant loans to some of them in the near future. He stated that the banks will have an important role in financing energy projects in Turkey in the upcoming period and that they are determined to continue giving support to such projects.
Cem Mengi from Akbank said they had provided $2.1 billion in loans for 31 energy projects. He said a few energy giants from the US and Europe have recently entered the Turkish market, giving a boost to energy investments in the country. "Also some regulations made by the Energy Market Regulatory Agency [EPDK] have played a major role," he noted, adding that the bank gives priority to green projects.
The head of Denizbank's project finance department, Ceyda Çetin Erten, said the amount of loans they extended for energy projects has reached $400 million. She said they expect to extend as much capital as they can for such projects in Turkey, noting that they will help the country greatly minimize reliance on foreign energy sources.
Turkey Electricity Market
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