Turkiye explores oil and gas investments in Kirkuk

Shafaq News- Kirkuk

Iraqi and Turkish officials discussed investment opportunities for Turkish companies in Kirkuk’s oil and gas sectors on Wednesday, as the two countries seek to expand economic cooperation.

A Shafaq News correspondent said the meeting brought together Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and former Kirkuk Governor Mohammed Samaan Agha, First Deputy Governor Rebwar Taha, and Turkish Ambassador to Iraq Anil Bora Inan, who arrived in the province earlier that day with a delegation from Turkiye’s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK). The talks explored potential partnerships in energy and other investment projects.

The meeting followed Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s July 28 visit to Ankara, where he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to expand cooperation in energy, trade, investment, and transport, and signed three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) covering industrial cooperation, police training, and youth affairs. Baghdad and Ankara also set a medium-term target of increasing bilateral trade from approximately $17 billion to $30 billion, prioritizing the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline and Iraq’s Development Road project.

Read more: Turkiye, Iraq target $30B in bilateral trade

Investment in Kirkuk’s Oilfields

Iraq has tasked BP with redeveloping four Kirkuk oilfields —Kirkuk, Bai Hassan, Khabbaz, and Jambur— aiming to increase their combined production from approximately 328,000 to more than 450,000 barrels per day and improve associated gas recovery.

In July, state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) agreed to acquire a 15% stake in BP Energy Company of Kirkuk Limited, which is involved in the redevelopment.

Kirkuk is a major source of Iraq’s northern oil exports through the pipeline network linking the province to Turkiye’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. In August, Baghdad and Ankara signed a one-year agreement covering approximately 750,000 barrels per day of pipeline capacity, while Iraqi officials outlined plans to eventually increase exports through Turkiye to around one million barrels per day.

Turkish investment interest extends beyond energy. During a visit to Kirkuk in May, Ambassador Inan explored opportunities in electricity generation, agriculture, industry, infrastructure, and tourism. In July, Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat said Turkish contractors had completed more than 1,150 projects across Iraq worth nearly $40 billion.

Read more: Four Iraqi Kirkuk fields target 450K bpd under BP