Türkiye’s state energy company Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) has signed a partnership agreement with Shell to take part in oil and natural gas exploration in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Black Sea, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said.
Under the deal, TPAO will join exploration activities led by Shell at Block 1-26 Khan Tervel, offshore Bulgaria. The agreement was signed in Istanbul by TPAO General Manager Cem Erdem and Shell Senior Vice President Eugene Okpere, in the presence of Bayraktar.
Bayraktar said the partnership would provide Türkiye with a five-year exploration license in Bulgaria’s EEZ. He added that the Khan Tervel block covers more than 3,800 square kilometers and lies close to Türkiye’s Sakarya gas field, the country’s flagship offshore discovery in the Black Sea.
The minister said the partners will first carry out seismic surveys in the license area. Depending on the results, they could move to the next stage, including the option of drilling an exploration well next year, he added.
The Shell partnership is the latest step in Ankara’s push to expand TPAO’s upstream footprint abroad. In recent weeks, TPAO has signed separate cooperation agreements with ExxonMobil, Chevron and BP, Bayraktar said.
