ISTANBUL, Dec 26 (Reuters) - The total volume of natural gas Turkey has discovered in the Black Sea now amounts to 710 billion cubic metres (bcm) after a new field was located and a previous find was revised higher, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.

 

Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Erdogan said Turkey had discovered a new reserve of 58 bcm in the Caycuma-1 field, in addition to revising up an estimated volume in the Sakarya field to 652 bcm from the previous 540 bcm.

 

"As a result of the analysis of the data, we have revised the previously declared 540 billion cubic-metre reserve to 652 billion cubic metres," Erdogan said, adding that Turkey had drilled 13 wells in the Sakarya field.

 

"With our new discovery at Caycuma-1, our gas reserve in the Black Sea has risen by 170 billion cubic metres to 710 billion cubic metres," he said.

 

Erdogan said last month that Turkey is on track for the Sakarya gas field to go online in 2023. He said on Monday that the newly discovered Caycuma-1 field would be connected to the Sakarya field and from there to the national grid.

 

Turkey, which has little oil and gas, is highly dependent on imports from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, as well as LNG imports from Qatar, the United States, Nigeria and Algeria for its gas.

 

Turkey has also been exploring for hydrocarbon resources in the Mediterranean, where its operations in disputed waters have stoked tensions with Greece and Cyprus.

 

Separaetly, Russian President Vladimir Putin has floated the idea of setting up a "gas hub" in Turkey following explosions that damaged Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea and halted its direct gas sales to Germany.