5 New Agreements with Islamabad
The Turkish energy fleet, which performed its first intercontinental mission by conducting seismic work in Somalia with the Oruç Reis Research Ship, is turning its route from Africa to Asia. 5 agreements were signed with Pakistan, one of the largest countries in Asia, within the scope of crude oil and natural gas exploration and production. With the agreements signed in the presence of Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Türkiye Petrolleri (TP) will search and produce with its Pakistani Partners in 5 areas in Pakistan, 3 of which are Offshore and 2 of which are Onshore.
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar, who is in Pakistan, stated that the seismic research ships will be in Pakistan in 2026 and said, "We are very hopeful about the studies here. Our goal is to start working in these fields in 2026. We want to carry out these activities with some seismic and some with direct drilling works."
Search and Production Abroad
While Türkiye is working to increase oil and natural gas production in the Blue Homeland and Onshore fields, on the other hand, it carries out activities at exploration and production points outside the borders of the country. After the Oruç Reis Research Ship carried out seismic studies in Somalia, this time the news of a new agreement came from Pakistan.
High-Level Meetings
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar made contacts in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. Minister Bayraktar, who met with Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister's Office, also had a meeting with Pakistani Oil Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and Pakistan's Minister of Energy for Electricity Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari.
5 Agreements Signed
Within the scope of Minister Bayraktar's program, hydrocarbon exploration and production agreements were signed between Türkiye Petrolleri and Pakistani companies Mari Energies, Fatima, OGDCL, PPL, Prime and GHPL in 3 sea and 2 land fields in Pakistan.
Joint Search and Production
According to these signed agreements; Türkiye Petrolleri will search and produce crude oil and natural gas together with Pakistani companies in 3 blocks located in Pakistani sea areas. In addition, it will also carry out joint exploration and production activities with Pakistani companies in 2 blocks located in the land areas of Pakistan.
It will start in 2026
In his evaluation of the signatures, Minister Bayraktar stated that Türkiye Petrolleri has licenses in 5 fields through partnerships and said, "Our seismic research ships will be here in 2026. We are very hopeful about the work here. We will sign an important study with concrete results in terms of Türkiye-Pakistan cooperation. Our goal is to start working in these fields in 2026. We want to carry out these activities with some seismic and some with direct drilling works." said.
Next: Mines
Expressing that they want to carry the existing cooperation between the two countries to the field of mines, Bayraktar said, "Pakistan is an important country in terms of mineral diversity and mineral richness. Again, on the occasion of partnerships, we will carry out important studies in the field of mining. We made our decisions about this today. We will quickly have more active activities in Pakistan with our national mining companies MTAIC and ETI MADEN," he said.
Joint Purchase Option
Noting that they care about energy and mining to achieve the $5 billion trade volume target between the two countries, Bayraktar said that the two countries are important energy importers in the context of both petroleum products and LNG. Pointing out that a joint work can be made on this issue, Bayraktar said, "In other words, a project related to the joint purchase of Türkiye and Pakistan and in this sense, our project regarding the creation of a synergy from here is also on our agenda."
The Foundation Was Laid In February
The foundation of these agreements signed in Islamabad was laid during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to Pakistan in February. Accompanying President Erdoğan during the visit, Minister Bayraktar signed the "Protocol on the Amendment of the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Hydrocarbons", "Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Energy Transformation" and "Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Mining".
He Matured With His Visit To Pakistan
Following these agreements, Minister Bayraktar organized a visit to Pakistan in April. During the visit, Türkiye Petrolleri and Pakistan's national oil companies reached an agreement on making a joint offer. The partnerships established later made a joint bid for the tenders of Pakistan for the sea and land fields.