Türkiye plans to formalise a new energy deal with Pakistan covering oil and gas exploration both on land and at sea, Ankara’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced.
Bayraktar said on Wednesday he will travel to Pakistan next week to formalise the agreement.
“We’re preparing to sign our accord for Pakistan’s first deep-sea drilling project,” he told Lider Haber.
“Our cooperation will begin with exploration work in two onshore blocks and one offshore zone,” he added.
The signing ceremony is expected to take place on Tuesday, Daily Sabah reported.
In February, the government of Pakistan announced a bidding round offering 40 offshore blocks in the Makran and Indus basins for the granting of exploration licences.
The deal
Türkiye and Pakistan signed an agreement for jointly bidding for offshore oil and gas exploration across 40 blocks in the South Asian country in April.
Pakistan’s Mari Energies Limited, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited and Pakistan Petroleum Limited signed the agreement with the Turkish Petroleum (TPAO), to jointly participate in the offshore bidding round.
In July, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said during an official visit to Islamabad that Turkish companies will carry out oil and gas exploration in Pakistan’s offshore reserves.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Fidan emphasised Ankara’s intent to deepen economic and energy ties with Islamabad and work toward increasing their bilateral trade volume to $5 billion
In October, TPAO secured a 25 percent stake and operating rights in Pakistan’s Eastern Offshore Indus Block-C as part of Islamabad’s newly relaunched offshore energy exploration drive.
