Istanbul - (AFP) - Turkey officially began extracting natural gas in the Black Sea on Monday, which will allow it, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to produce 10 million cubic meters by the first quarter of 2023.

Erdogan witnessed first-hand the deployment and connection of the first seabed pipeline from the port of Filius in Zonguldak province, 400 km east of Istanbul on the Black Sea coast.

The same field, located 170 kilometers north of the coast, was discovered in August 2020 and was presented by Erdogan as "the largest natural gas field in Turkey's history."

Then he talked about "a reserve estimated at 320 billion cubic meters."

"In the first quarter of 2023, we will have transported 10 million cubic meters of natural gas (...) and we hope that the Sakarya field will reach its peak production in 2026," the president said on Monday.

"We will continue our efforts until we can fully guarantee our energy security," while Turkey still relies heavily on imports to meet its energy needs at high prices, especially since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, he added.

Last year, 45 percent of the gas consumed in Turkey came from Russia, and the rest from Iran and Azerbaijan.

The country's inflation rate is at a record level not seen since 1998 (73.5% year-on-year) and the currency has collapsed (it fell nearly 50% year-on-year to more than 17 lira to the dollar on Monday night), making the cost of living difficult for most Turks.

Turkey's annual gas consumption increased from 48 billion cubic meters in 2020 to 60 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach 62-63 billion this year, according to official figures.