Türkiye is interested in a proposal with Libya to collaborate on offshore energy exploration, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar confirmed on Wednesday.
“Libya has offered to us to work with our exploration vessels offshore,” he told the state-owned Anadolu news agency. “Frankly, we are keen on this offer.”
In 2020, Türkiye, a NATO member, deployed military personnel to Libya to support the Tripoli-based government in its conflict with General Khalifa Haftar’s eastern-based Libyan National Army. Later that year, Ankara signed a maritime demarcation agreement with Tripoli, sparking objections from Egypt and Greece. In 2022, both countries further solidified their energy ties with a preliminary agreement for offshore exploration, which was similarly opposed by Egypt and Greece.
Bayraktar highlighted that Türkiye is also exploring other opportunities in Libya, stressing the need for the “right project and partner.”
Tensions between Türkiye and Greece, also a NATO member, have long been high over competing maritime claims in the eastern Mediterranean. The two countries’ disputes over hydrocarbon exploration have historically strained relations between Ankara, Greece, and the European Union. However, diplomatic ties have improved in recent years as tensions have eased.
Bayraktar also mentioned that Türkiye is interested in gas fields off Egypt’s coast, following a recent thaw in relations between the two nations after years of strained ties. Ankara and Cairo are working on a project involving Turkish floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) vessels to support Egypt’s gas procurement.
The minister further stated that Türkiye plans to send its Oruc Reis exploration vessel to Somalia by October, under a hydrocarbon cooperation agreement between the two countries.