Turkey Should Eye Iraqi Oil, Gas

Turkey should secure a place for itself in both the northern and southern oil and gas fields of Iraq since its energy future is inextricably linked with its southern neighbor, despite frequent recent friction, sector representatives have said, Hürriyet Daily News has reported.

“Iraq will be producing around 19 billion cubic meters of natural gas by 2035, which means it will become the fifth or sixth biggest producer in the world,” said Tahir Uysal, a partner at Silso Oil. Turkey should not only conduct energy investments in northern Iraq, but should also pursue ties in the southern part of the country as well, he told the Daily News. 

He added that Turkey should look at importing northern Iraq’s gas rather than transporting it to Europe in the long term.

However, it has not been easy for Turkish companies to work in the northern and southern parts of Iraq at the same time. In this respect, Pars Kutay, head of government and public affairs at the Ankara-based Genel Energy, said Genel wanted to enter the southern Iraqi market but were put on a Baghdad blacklist because the company is already operating in northern Iraq.

“Around 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas may come from northern Iraq in the next 10 to 20 years. Iraq’s gas reserves are estimated to be 3.5 million cubic meters. Some 85 percent of these reserves are thought to be located in northern Iraq,” said Kutay.

“There are certain companies in northern Iraq, but we will see purchasing there, and international companies will be entering there,” said Kutay. “If Turkey does not develop a timely policy, then probably in five to 10 years we will be discussing how to transport the oil and gas that is retrieved by mainly American companies from northern Iraq,” he said.