Turkiye, Pakistan sign major hydrocarbon deals in landmark energy cooperation

By News Centre

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar met with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister’s Residence. Bayraktar also held meetings with Pakistan’s Minister of Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik and Pakistan’s Minister of Energy responsible for Electricity, Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari.

Following the meetings, hydrocarbon exploration and production agreements were signed between Turkiye’s national company, Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortakl??? (TPAO), and Pakistan’s oil companies Mari Energies, Fatima, OGDCL, PPL, Prime, and GHPL for three offshore and two onshore fields in Pakistan.

After the ceremony, Minister Bayraktar told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they continue to work to enhance cooperation between Turkiye and Pakistan in the energy and mining sectors and emphasized that they had carried out an important initiative yielding tangible results for Turkiye-Pakistan cooperation.

Minister Bayraktar recalled that there had been several visits to Pakistan this year and said:

“This is actually our third visit to Pakistan within a few months. In February, our President visited. After that visit, we came here and participated in an important mining conference. With the capabilities we have especially developed in recent years in oil and natural gas exploration in Turkiye, we have started activities related to exploration in both the seas and lands of Pakistan. As of today, as the first result of these efforts, TPAO acquires licenses for three offshore and two onshore fields through partnerships. For one of these, we will operate in the offshore fields. Our seismic research vessels will be here very soon, hopefully within 2026. We are extremely hopeful about the work here. Hopefully, these activities will yield results, and indeed, we will sign an important initiative that produces concrete outcomes for Turkiye-Pakistan cooperation. Our goal is to start work on these fields in 2026. In some, we will conduct seismic studies; in others, direct drilling operations to carry out these activities.”

Bayraktar stated that the first step of Turkiye-Pakistan cooperation was formed through oil and natural gas activities and that important decisions were also made in the mining sector.

He added that Pakistan is an important country in terms of the diversity and richness of its minerals and has strong potential. He said:

“Similar to the activities we have conducted in Africa and Central Asia, here too, especially through our state companies and through partnerships, we will carry out significant initiatives in the mining sector in the upcoming period. We made our decisions about this today. Rapidly, together with our national mining companies MTAIC and Eti Maden, we will also be more active in the mining sector in Pakistan.”

Bayraktar highlighted that President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an’s visit to Pakistan gave momentum to bilateral relations and stated:

“Regarding the target set by our President to increase the trade volume between the two countries to 5 billion dollars, we see energy and mining as very important sectors. To reach this target, concrete cooperation in this field is crucial. Especially, Pakistan and Turkiye are both important energy importers, importers of petroleum products, and LNG. Our project for joint procurement and creating synergy between Turkiye and Pakistan is also on our agenda. By implementing these, we will reach the 5 billion dollar target and perhaps even exceed it. Pakistan is an important country with great potential, with which we have heartfelt ties and excellent reciprocal relations. We held very important meetings here. We were welcomed and hosted at the highest level with great hospitality. Therefore, hopefully, we will continue to visit Pakistan more frequently in the future.”