According to data released by the authorities, during a meeting held last week, executives of the U.S.-based oil giant ExxonMobil got information about the license status of various oil fields and they proposed cooperation with the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) to join shale gas projects in Southeastern Anatolia. It is said that ExxonMobil and TPAO are supposed to ink a confidentiality agreement on shale gas projects within the next two weeks.

After the agreement is signed ExxonMobil can obtain information from TPAO about seismic structures and the reserve status of the fields in which they are interested with the approval of the General Directorate of Petroleum Affairs. It is also stated that the company will provide know-how facilities and financial support for the exploration of the oil wells which can be brought to economic production phase. It is estimated that the shale oil reserves of Turkey are around 2-4 trillion cubic meters.

It is crucial to generate energy from domestic resources for Turkey, which meets most of its energy requirements through imports. Turkey is in need of international financial support and technical experience in the exploration and production of shale gas. Currently, TPAO carries out production activities for testing and exploring purposes both on land and in water. It, at the same time, carries out joint shale gas exploration activities with the Netherlands-based Shell Company in the fields near Diyarbakır.

As well as being one of the largest oil and natural gas producers, ExxonMobil is also the biggest refinery company in the world. It is a company which was founded with the recombination of the two subsidiaries - Exxon and Mobil - of Standard Oil, which was owned by the Rockefeller family and divided into two on the grounds of being a cartel company. As an integrated international energy entity, Exxon-Mobil carries out oil and natural gas production on global waters and all continents. As the second largest company of the world in terms of marketing value, it is the top oil generator of the world with a daily production that is equal to 3.9 billion barrels of oil. ExxonMobil does not sell refined petroleum products in Turkey presently; however, following the cooperation with TPAO, it will conduct exploration and production activities in Turkey for the first time.