Istanbul; October 2026: Turkiye’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar while speaking at the Turkiye Energy Summit in Istanbul, has said that - Turkiye could announce new acquisitions or agreements to expand hydrocarbon exploration by the end of the year as it pursues a target of producing 01 million barrels of oil and natural gas per day.
Bayraktar has said that the country currently had a production capacity of 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with plans to increase that figure to between 550,000 and 600,000 by 2028.
Reaching the 01 million-barrel target would require Turkiye to more than triple its current output, while even its projected 2028 production would fall short of the goal. Turkiye is therefore looking to expand its operations abroad, including in Africa and Lebanon, to bridge 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. There may be new fields, new countries, it could be Africa. Therefore, we want to reach that 1 million barrel target with these", the Energy Minister has said, while adding further that Turkiye was also exploring opportunities for electricity trade with Lebanon while seeking to expand its hydrocarbon exploration activities in the country.
"Turkiye 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.
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