Türkiye strikes oil, gas cooperation deal with Somalia

ANKARA

Türkiye and Somalia have reached an oil and gas cooperation agreement for the Horn of Africa, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has stated, in the latest step in strengthening ties between the two countries.

“We signed an intergovernmental agreement and memorandum of understanding with Abdirizak Omar Mohamed, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of Somalia, to enhance our cooperation in the field of oil and natural gas in Somalia's onshore and offshore blocks,” Bayraktar wrote on social media platform X.

Abdirizak Omar Mohamed was in Istanbul for the deal.

"We aim to strengthen Turkey’s presence in the Horn of Africa with these collaborations in the energy field,” Bayraktar said.

The energy cooperation deal shortly after Türkiye and Somalia inked a defense agreement, aimed at bolstering military cooperation and strengthening ties.

The Defense and Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement was formalized on Feb.8 during an official visit by Somali Defense Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur to the Turkish capital Ankara.

[HH] Gas deal with Turkmenistan

Separately, Bayraktar said they are looking into alternatives to transfer natural gas from Turkmenistan to Europe via Türkiye.

Earlier this month, Türkiye and Turkmenistan inked a Memorandum of Understanding on accelerating cooperation in the natural gas sector and a Declaration of Intent for joint ventures in the field of hydrocarbon.

The documents were signed following a meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Chairman of Turkmenistan People's Council Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

There are three options to deliver the gas, Bayraktar said at the Energy and Climate Forum in Istanbul on March 7.

“One is that Turkmen gas is transferred to Türkiye through Iran via swap. Another is that it arrives in Türkiye through swap via Iran and Azerbaijan. Alternatively, the Turkmen gas may be delivered to Türkiye via a pipeline passing through the Caspian Sea, which is essentially longer-lasting, more sustainable and has a larger capacity,” the minister explained.

All these options are on the table, Bayraktar said, noting that initially up to 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Turkmenistan could be transferred.

The minister also said that the daily natural gas production from the Sakarya Field in the Black Sea has reached 3 million cubic meters.

“Our aim is to increase the output from this field to 40 million cubic meters. When this target is achieved, the natural gas needs of 15 million households will be met solely by the Sakarya Field,” Bayraktar said.