Licensing trend indicates geothermal activity in Türkiye concentrated in existing fields
2025 Annual Activity Report (Source: MAPEG)
Carlo Cariaga
20 May 2026
According to MAPEG's 2025 activity report, geothermal licensing activity in Türkiye has been more focused on developing existing fields rather than new fields.
While investment interest in Türkiye’s geothermal energy sector continues, licensing data reveals a shift in the sector’s direction. According to a table in the 2024 activity report of the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs (MAPEG), which also includes updated data for 2025, the trend in the number of applications and licenses is noteworthy.
A total of 638 initial geothermal energy applications were submitted throughout 2024 , with November seeing the highest number of applications that year, at 105. This indicates continued investor interest in geothermal energy.
In terms of exploration licenses, 412 new licenses were issued in 2024. However, after peaking at 1,378 in 2019, exploration licenses have shown a significant downward trend in subsequent years. The 2025 data shown below also indicates that this trend continues.
There is more limited activity in business licenses. Only 28 new business licenses were issued throughout 2024, a significant decrease compared to the 318 issued in 2018. Data for 2025 also reveals that business licenses will remain at low levels.
Because MAPEG is a regulatory body, this data does not directly reflect technical activities in the field. In the sector, activities such as exploration, surveying, and drilling are mainly carried out by the General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA) and the private sector.
When evaluated together with MTA data, it is seen that there is a trend towards developing existing fields rather than exploring new fields in the geothermal sector. This indicates that investors are turning to areas with lower risk and established production potential.
When the data is evaluated holistically, it becomes clear that while the geothermal sector in Türkiye continues to grow, this growth is increasingly driven by the development of existing resources rather than new discoveries.
The report also stated that legislative work on geothermal resources is ongoing and the transition process to the planned e-geothermal system has not yet begun. The implementation of this system is expected to contribute to more efficient management of licensing processes.
Source: MAPEG via our Turkish language platform JeotermalHaberler
