By Maha Shahid
August 3, 2026 6:57 amTurkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) is expanding its international footprint from onshore production to offshore exploration projects following its partnership in Iraq’s Kirkuk fields and its latest move into Bulgaria, reinforcing its position in the global energy sector.
Through a series of cooperation agreements with major international energy companies, TPAO’s strategy to expand its international operations, outlined by Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar since the beginning of the year, is beginning to take shape.
Under this strategy, TPAO targets combined oil and natural gas production of around 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) by 2028, with a longer-term goal of increasing output to 1 million boe/d.
Following its partnership in Iraq’s Kirkuk project, the company’s participation in Bulgaria’s Khan Tervel Block in the Black Sea represents the latest milestone in this vision.
– International offshore exploration expands in Black Sea
TPAO’s move into Bulgaria became official after the Bulgarian Council of Ministers approved the partnership agreement, originally signed on Feb. 18, at the end of July.
Under the decision, TPAO acquired a 33% stake in the exploration license for the Khan Tervel Block 1-26, located in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea. The company joins the project as a license holder alongside operator Shell, with the partnership structure comprising 42% for Shell, 33% for TPAO and 25% for Austrian oil and gas company OMV.
Covering approximately 3,800 square kilometers, the block is located near Türkiye’s Sakarya gas field in the Black Sea, home to the country’s largest natural gas discovery.
Bayraktar previously said the partners will initially carry out seismic surveys before drilling an exploration well under the project’s five-year exploration license.
The partnership is expected to allow TPAO to leverage its deepwater exploration and production experience gained at Sakarya gas field, expand its international offshore activities in the Black Sea and strengthen technical cooperation with global energy companies.
– Kirkuk partnership strengthens international onshore portfolio
Alongside its offshore expansion in Bulgaria, TPAO has also strengthened its international onshore production portfolio through its partnership in Kirkuk.
Under the agreement, TPAO acquired a 15% stake in the consortium established with bp and ConocoPhillips to redevelop the Baba and Avanah domes as well as the Bai Hassan, Jambur and Khabbaz fields.
According to the latest field-level data from Iraq’s Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the fields currently produce around 300,000 barrels per day (bpd).
The project’s initial phase is estimated to cover more than 3 billion boe in hydrocarbon resources, while the entire contract area is believed to hold resource potential of up to 20 billion boe.
Analysts say the Kirkuk partnership will not only strengthen TPAO’s international production portfolio but also support Türkiye’s energy supply security and its ambition to become a regional energy hub.
– Partnership network with global energy companies expands
TPAO continues to broaden its international network through partnerships and cooperation agreements with some of the world’s leading energy companies.
In addition to its projects in Kirkuk and Bulgaria, which deepen strategic partnerships with bp, ConocoPhillips, Shell and OMV, the company signed several cooperation agreements with international energy majors during the first half of the year.
In January, TPAO signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ESSO Exploration International Limited, a subsidiary of US-based ExxonMobil, covering oil and natural gas exploration in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, and other prospective regions.
In February, the company signed an MOU with US energy major Chevron on cooperation in oil and natural gas exploration and production in Türkiye and international markets. It also signed a strategic cooperation agreement with bp covering oil and natural gas activities.
In April, TPAO formalized another MOU with France’s TotalEnergies to evaluate joint exploration opportunities in the Black Sea and other international areas.
While continuing exploration and production activities at strategic domestic assets such as Gabar and Sakarya, TPAO is steadily implementing its international expansion strategy by participating in both overseas onshore production projects and offshore exploration ventures.
– TPAO emerging as key player in energy diplomacy
Osama Rizvi, energy and economics analyst at US-based Primary Vision Network, told Anadolu that the latest partnerships strengthened TPAO’s international presence.
“This moves Türkiye beyond being only a transit route. By owning stakes in production, Türkiye gains revenue, supply options and influence across exploration, production, pipelines, trading and refining. This creates asset-based leverage, not just geographic leverage,” Rizvi said.
Francesco Sassi, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oslo, said TPAO has significantly expanded its international footprint in recent years.
“TPAO has become a relevant player in Türkiye’s energy diplomacy, a significant aspect of Ankara’s increasingly ambitious foreign policy,” Sassi said.
“Many of these developments suggest that Ankara’s maritime ambitions—the concept of the Blue Homeland (Mavi Vatan)—are indeed connected to energy interests and needs, in addition to projecting Türkiye’s influence across the broader region,” Sassi added.
He noted that future exploration and development projects in the Black Sea, particularly in cooperation with European energy companies, could further strengthen TPAO’s international profile and support Türkiye’s long-term strategic energy objectives.
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