Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) has made the largest crude oil discovery in inland Turkey, with an estimated 1 billion barrels of crude oil deposit, the Turkish company said. The discovery was made in the southeastern province of Sirnak, which borders the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq and Syria. Turkish Petroleum has drilled an exploration well and found more than 162 meters of light oil field with an API gravity of 41. The well is already producing around 1000 tons of oil. TPAO plans to drill two evaluation wells and conduct test wells to have a complete development plan for the field by the end of this year. Further exploration activities are planned for the second half of 2023. The production target is set at 100,000 bpd, which is more than double Turkey's oil production. Successful exploration should help Turkey achieve energy independence, the TPAO said in a statement.