President Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that Turkey intends to sign a comprehensive energy cooperation agreement with Iraq at the earliest opportunity after meeting Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in Ankara. The announcement followed a bilateral session in which expected extensions to an existing pipeline accord were not finalized.
The decades-old agreement governing exports via the Kirkuk-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline, which had been anticipated to be renewed, lapsed on Monday and no extension was signed during the Ankara talks. That pact has long governed shipments through the pipeline.
Erdogan indicated that Turkey's state-owned oil and gas company, TPAO, will operate within the Kirkuk oilfield currently used by BP. Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar confirmed on the social platform X that TPAO acquired a 15% stake in BP Energy Company of Kirkuk Limited, a transaction Bayraktar said will allow the Turkish company to carry out operations at the field.
During a ceremony in Ankara the two governments signed three separate cooperation agreements covering various fields. Following the signings, ministers from both countries came on stage to brief President Erdogan before the two leaders delivered their remarks without further signatures being added.
The talks in Ankara produced a public commitment from Erdogan on the priority of securing a broad energy accord with Iraq as soon as feasible, while the specific extension for the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline was not completed at that time. According to statements released during the meeting, the 15% stake acquisition by TPAO in BP Energy Company of Kirkuk Limited is intended to permit TPAO to become an operating participant in the Kirkuk oilfield.
The sequence of events - the expiration of the pipeline agreement, the absence of an immediate renewal, the signing of three cooperation pacts, and TPAO's reported purchase of a minority stake enabling operations in Kirkuk - were the central developments disclosed following the Ankara meeting between Erdogan and Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi.
Clear summary
Turkey and Iraq held talks in Ankara where President Erdogan said Turkey aims to quickly conclude a full energy cooperation agreement. The existing Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline agreement expired Monday and was not extended during the meeting. Turkish state firm TPAO announced a 15% acquisition in BP Energy Company of Kirkuk Limited, which will allow TPAO to operate in the Kirkuk oilfield. Three other cooperation agreements were signed at a ceremony in Ankara.