Turkish leader announces natural gas find with fanfare

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Friday the discovery of a large natural gas reserve off the Black Sea coast that will help ease the country’s dependence on imports.

Erdogan said the amount of gas discovered is 320 billion cubic meters, a sum industry analysts said was notable but not a “game-changer” that might turn the country into a regional energy hub or materially alter its financial fortunes.

Turkey hopes to start extracting and using the gas by 2023, when Turkey marks the centenary of the founding of the republic, Erdogan said.

“Turkey has realized the greatest natural gas discovery in its history,” he said. “We will not stop until we become a net exporter of energy.”

Cease-fire offers new hope in unrest in Libya

Libya’s U.n.-supported government Friday announced a cease-fire across the oil-rich country and called for demilitarizing the strategic city of Sirte in an initiative supported by the rival parliament in the east.

The development could mark a breakthrough following international pressure amid rising fear of a new escalation in the chaotic proxy war as rival sides mobilize for a battle over Sirte. The gateway to Libya’s major oil export terminals has been under the control of forces loyal to military commander Khalifa Hifter since January.

Libya was plunged into chaos when a Nato-backed uprising in 2011 toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. The country has since split between rival east- and westbased administrations, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments.

The chaos has worsened in recent months as foreign backers increasingly intervene, despite pledges to the contrary at a high-profile peace summit in Berlin this year. Thousands of mercenaries including Russian, Syrians and Sudanese are fighting on both sides of the conflict.