Türkiye may reach agreements to make acquisitions or form new partnerships abroad for hydrocarbon exploration before the end of the year, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Tuesday.

Addressing an energy summit in Istanbul, Bayraktar said the government will expand its overseas exploration, with a focus on Iraq, Syria, Libya and Pakistan. He said Türkiye also wants to explore off the coasts of Lebanon and Syria with its own ships.

Ankara is seeking to step up operations of the state-owned upstream oil and gas company Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) through partnerships with international companies as it looks to strengthen energy security and build a larger global production portfolio.

Officials have repeatedly voiced the aim to transform the TPAO into a more prominent energy producer.

Bayraktar said Türkiye had a production capacity ​of ⁠300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, adding that the current planning had this reaching 550,000 to 600,000 by 2028. A longer-term goal is to produce ⁠1 million barrels of oil and ⁠natural gas a day.

Reaching the target would mean more than tripling Türkiye's current output, and even the level planned for 2028 would leave it well short.

Bayraktar's comments show Ankara is looking abroad, to Africa, Lebanon and elsewhere, to close the gap.

"There may be more news, good news by the end of the year. We may buy, acquire companies. ⁠We ⁠are making partnerships and will continue to do so," the minister said.

"There may be new fields, new countries; it could be Africa. Therefore, we want to reach that 1 million barrel target with these," he said

TPAO has signed agreements for offshore hydrocarbon exploration in Libya and Pakistan. Türkiye also has an agreement for offshore exploration with Somalia and has been carrying out operations in that region.

Bayraktar recalled what he described as a historic partnership signed between the TPAO and the British oil major BP earlier this year.

Under the agreement, the TPAO acquired a 15% stake alongside BP and ConocoPhillips in the consortium developing the Baba and Avanah domes and the Bai Hassan, Jambur and Khabbaz fields in Iraq's Kirkuk region.

Bayraktar said Türkiye was also ​exploring possible electricity trade with Lebanon and that it was interested in hydrocarbon ​exploration there too.

"Türkiye has become a country that can explore for natural gas, oil with its own ships. ⁠We ‌have a ‌very strong fleet. This is why we're now ⁠going to Lebanon... We are interested ‌in Lebanon's offshore," he said.

European countries ​offering to buy gas from ⁠Türkiye

Türkiye is set to announce its new energy road map next week.

Electrification will be at the center of the 2040 strategy, Bayraktar said, along with plans for electricity storage investments, electric transportation and artificial intelligence.

He said high energy prices make greater use of electric vehicles necessary, and that significant steps will be taken.

The plan envisions about $100 billion of investment in electricity transmission and distribution networks.

Globally, the world is facing a deepening energy crisis due to the Iran war, which Bayraktar called the biggest of modern times.

He said the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which much of the world’s oil passed before the conflict started in late February, has become more complex.

He said energy infrastructure has turned into one of the main targets in wars and conflicts.

The risk of higher oil prices remains, Bayraktar said. "Prices are very high right now. Even $115 oil could turn out to be a low price. There is a risk of it going higher," he noted.

Bayraktar said Türkiye has had no supply problems during the energy crisis, and is trying not to pass price increases on to citizens.

Natural gas subsidies will continue, he said, but the country is entering a period in which gas and electricity prices will strain it.

He added that some European countries were ​offering to buy natural gas from ⁠Türkiye after deciding to halt energy trade ⁠with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Bayraktar said that ⁠Türkiye could be an ​alternative route for Europe while becoming an energy centre of its own.

Akkuyu nuclear plant nears startup

Bayraktar said the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, Türkiye’s first, on the Mediterranean coast in Mersin province, was delayed by the pandemic and an earthquake but is nearing completion.

Intensive works are continuing, he said. After more than 1,000 tests, the plant will be put into operation, and its physical startup will come within the next week or two, he said.

The government is also interested in small modular reactors, he said. Türkiye will discuss nuclear investments in South Korea on Monday and is in contact with China and Russia, he added.

Bayraktar said coal supplies about one-third of Türkiye’s electricity and noted that the government is ready to hear proposals for replacing that output with other sources.