Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said that Ankara is exploring opportunities for cooperation in Libya, whether in new oil fields or existing projects, through direct operations or partnerships. The minister made the remarks during the launch of the Turkish drilling vessel “Çağrı Bey” from Taşucu Port in Mersin province in southern Turkey, heading to Somalia to conduct energy exploration activities. In his speech at the ceremony, he described the event as a historic moment, marking Turkey’s first mission to search for oil and natural gas in deep waters outside its own seas, according to Turkish media reports on Monday. Regarding the recent tender held in Tripoli, he added: “Last Wednesday, as part of a new licensing round organized in Libya, we obtained oil and gas exploration rights in two fields, one offshore and one onshore.”He said that Turkish Petroleum will conduct exploration activities in Libya together with its Spanish partner Repsol, adding: “We hold a 40% share in both fields, and all these steps are part of our overseas growth strategy.”He also noted that Turkey signed major strategic agreements with ExxonMobil on January 8, Chevron on February 5, and BP last Thursday, and plans to sign another agreement next week with an international company for partnership in offshore areas abroad. He explained that the goal is for Turkish Petroleum to reach production of nearly 500,000 barrels of oil and gas by 2028.

Source: Libya Observer February 17, 2026 21:37 UTC