ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A candidate for the mayoralty of Turkey’s southeastern Kurdish city of Sirnak, from the country’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), on Monday praised the city’s booming economy and petroleum sector, stating that if elected, he aims to raise oil production to 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the end of 2024.
Mehmet Yarka, the incumbent mayor of Sirnak currently running to retain his position for another five-year term, told Rudaw’s Nwenar Fatih that the city's booming economy has kickstarted a reverse migration from the bigger cities back to Sirnak.
“Sirnak has grown and developed a lot. People build homes and invest, and those who left the city due to issues, are now returning from Adana, Ankara, Mersin, and Istanbul,” Yarka said.
Yarka also touched upon the growing petroleum industry in the city, lauding the quality of the extracted oil, and going as far as claiming it is higher than that of Kirkuk’s.
What determines the quality of extracted oil is its degree of specific gravity. The higher the degree of specific gravity, the easier to refine and hence the higher the value.
Mehmet Yarka, the incumbent mayor of Sirnak currently running to retain his position for another five-year term, told Rudaw’s Nwenar Fatih that the city's booming economy has kickstarted a reverse migration from the bigger cities back to Sirnak.
“Sirnak has grown and developed a lot. People build homes and invest, and those who left the city due to issues, are now returning from Adana, Ankara, Mersin, and Istanbul,” Yarka said.
Yarka also touched upon the growing petroleum industry in the city, lauding the quality of the extracted oil, and going as far as claiming it is higher than that of Kirkuk’s.
What determines the quality of extracted oil is its degree of specific gravity. The higher the degree of specific gravity, the easier to refine and hence the higher the value.
“The quality of oil in Kirkuk is 41 degrees [specific gravity], in Batman, it is 15, while ours is 46,” stressed Yarka. The city currently produces 40,000 bpd of oil according to Yarka, “By the end of the year … our goal is to increase it to 100,000 bpd.”
Sirnak is a small province in southeastern Turkey, bordering the Kurdistan Region.
In December 2022, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the discovery of an oil field in Sirnak’s Gabar Mountain, containing an estimated 150 million barrels valued at approximately $12 billion.
In May, Osman Bilgin, the governor of Sirnak announced the discovery of new oil reserves and expressed hope for the province's economic future amid a cost of living crisis in the country.
Turkey is set to hold local elections on March 31.
Sirnak is a small province in southeastern Turkey, bordering the Kurdistan Region.
In December 2022, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the discovery of an oil field in Sirnak’s Gabar Mountain, containing an estimated 150 million barrels valued at approximately $12 billion.
In May, Osman Bilgin, the governor of Sirnak announced the discovery of new oil reserves and expressed hope for the province's economic future amid a cost of living crisis in the country.
Turkey is set to hold local elections on March 31.
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