This year will be "the energy year" in Türkiye-Libya cooperation, and the trade volume will reach much higher levels, a top official said on Sunday, evaluating the bilateral and economic ties between the countries.
Energy cooperation between Türkiye and Libya will begin yielding concrete results in 2026, Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said, according to remarks published by Anadolu Agency (AA) on Sunday.
Speaking on the margins of the Libya Energy and Economy Summit and the 22nd Term Türkiye-Libya Joint Economic Commission (JEC) meeting, Bayraktar underlined the importance of reconvening the JEC for the first time in about 17 years and his meeting with Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah, noting that the commission is an important mechanism encompassing all areas of the economy.
"The Joint Economic Commission addresses all areas of the economy. It's a mechanism that covers not just energy, but all areas from transportation to health, education to trade," the minister said.
"Therefore, it was important to bring it back to life. It was a historic day. In that sense, we also signed the text of the agreement," he added, referring to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Libyan authorities.
"After 17 years, the 22. Joint Economic Commission (JEC) took place in Tripoli, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Mr. Muhammad Shahubi, Libya's Minister of Transport and Co-Chair of the JEC," Bayraktar wrote in a post on social media on Saturday.
"In the field of energy, we agreed to increase and diversify the ongoing successful activities between the public companies of the two countries in the trade of petroleum and petroleum products. We confirmed our common will to cooperate in Libya's land and sea areas. In addition, we reached a consensus on developing cooperation between the two countries in the fields of renewable energy and mining," he noted on X.
Starting his visit to Libya, Bayraktar met with Dbeibeh, describing their meeting as "productive."
"During our meeting, we discussed in depth our cooperation in the energy sector, particularly hydrocarbon exploration, production, and trade. We evaluated concrete projects that will take the Türkiye-Libya energy partnership to the next level with a sustainable and long-term perspective based on mutual trust," he posted.
Libya has Africa's most abundant hydrocarbon reserves but is struggling to recover from years of conflict after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime ruler, Moammar Gadhafi.
It has since been split between a U.N.-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, led by Dbeibeh and rival authorities based in the east.
Sharing that the trade volume between Türkiye and Libya amounted to roughly $4.4 billion in 2025, Bayraktar said: "In 2026, we will raise this above $5 billion. To push it further and meet the target set by our president, we need to place energy at the center of this cooperation."
"We have long-running negotiations with Libya. In that sense, 2026 will be a milestone year because we are working on this cooperation through various channels," he added.
Referring to studies underway within this scope, the minister said they were evaluating agreements for new fields and also international partnerships.
"We have ongoing work concerning fields where Turkish Petroleum operated in the past. We are negotiating agreements for new fields," he told AA.
"We will also continue our activities through international partnerships, particularly with international oil and gas companies operating in Libya. We will begin to see concrete results of this in 2026. 2026 will be the energy year in Türkiye-Libya cooperation and trade volumes will reach much higher levels," he added.
Türkiye has been a significant supporter of Libya and its Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). The two countries also signed an energy exploration agreement in October 2022 to explore hydrocarbons in Libya's exclusive economic zone and the mainland by Türkiye.
Regarding Türkiye’s interest in the oil and natural gas fields Libya is auctioning for the first time in 17 years, Bayraktar said: "We will also participate in the tenders to be held in February. In cooperation with international firms, we are particularly interested in two fields, both offshore and onshore."
"If Turkish Petroleum can secure a share in these fields in February, we will work rapidly," he noted.
"As we conveyed both to our partner companies and the Libyan government, Türkiye’s recent offshore experience and the strength of our marine fleet allow us to act quickly in seismic and drilling activities. In this framework, we can contribute both to Libya’s development and to advancing cooperation between Türkiye and Libya," he further suggested.
Touching on the agreement signed last June between Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) and the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC), Bayraktar also outlined next steps to move the process forward.
"We evaluated the data obtained and signed a seismic agreement for additional studies in Libya’s offshore fields. We may begin seismic work during 2026," he stated.
"Depending on the results, as in Somalia, where we first completed the seismic phase and will send our newly added vessel in February, which will begin drilling in (around) April, we may move to the drilling phase here as well if an agreement is reached."
Commenting on Türkiye’s hydrocarbon exploration activities with international energy companies, Bayraktar announced that they plan to sign an agreement with U.S. firm Chevron in Istanbul on Feb. 5 and will continue to conclude international agreements.
Emphasizing that beyond domestic oil and natural gas exploration and production, Türkiye is now concentrating on overseas operations as well, Bayraktar went on to say that as of this year, their new growth strategy includes also "an overseas growth target."
"We are looking at opportunities through partnerships or with Turkish Petroleum as a sole operator," he pointed out.
"We have already signed agreements in this regard. We acquired licenses for three offshore and two onshore fields in Pakistan. We have projects underway in Libya that we are working to finalize. Two days ago, we met in Türkiye with KazMunayGas of Kazakhstan. We are actively working on three fields there," he explained.
"God willing, we will finalize these agreements this year and begin operations."
