ANKARA, Sept 11 (Askume) – Turkey is interested in a proposal from Tripoli for energy exploration offshore Libya, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Wednesday.
“Libya has offered us the use of its seismic ships at sea for work. To be honest, we are interested in it. This way we can carry out seismic work at sea in Libya,” he told the state-run Anadolu news agency.
NATO member Turkey sent military personnel to Libya in 2020 to train and support the Tripoli government in its fight against eastern commander Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army . Later that year, it reached a maritime demarcation agreement with Tripoli that Egypt and Greece dispute.
Ankara and Tripoli also signed a preliminary deal for energy exploration in 2022, but Egypt and Greece opposed it.
Bayraktar said Turkey is also interested in other projects in Libya and needs “suitable projects and partners”.
Turkey and Greece, which are also NATO members, have been at odds over maritime jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean. The hydrocarbon exploration dispute has strained relations between Ankara, Greece and the European Union, although ties have improved in recent years as tensions have eased.
Bayraktar also said Turkey is interested in natural gas fields near Egypt , with which Turkey has recently begun to improve relations after a decade of hostility. He said the two countries were working on a project related to Cairo’s gas purchases that involved the Turkish Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) vessel.
He also said Ankara plans to send the Oruc Reis exploration vessel to Somalia by October to carry out seismic work there as part of a hydrocarbon cooperation agreement between the two countries .
