Turkey: Restarting the 'Kirkuk-Baniyas' pipeline poses no threat to us... Syria needs massive investments
The Turkish Energy Minister confirmed that restarting the Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline does not threaten Turkey, emphasizing Syria's need for massive investments in the energy sector.
Translated by Qiyas from الأنباء — Original source
Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar affirmed on Friday that Syria requires massive investments, stressing that his country does not view the prospect of restarting the Kirkuk-Baniyas oil pipeline between Iraq and Syria as a threat to Turkey.
He made these remarks during a meeting with representatives of international media institutions and foreign-language media outlets at the Istanbul Financial Center.
“We believe that energy and mining can be used as tools to achieve peace and prosperity,” he added, emphasizing the importance of cooperation in these sectors to enhance stability in Syria and the region.
On the other hand, the Turkish minister noted that the crude oil pipeline between Iraq and Turkey has never operated at full capacity, and that Ankara has proposed to Iraq for several years extending the pipeline to the city of Basra and increasing its production capacity from 1.5 million to 2.5 million barrels per day.
Regarding the “National Energy Vision 2040,” Bayraktar clarified that it aims to shift toward greater reliance on electricity, which will help reduce Turkey’s expected daily crude oil needs by 2040 from 1.2 million barrels to about 720,000 barrels, while maintaining natural gas consumption at 57 billion cubic meters instead of 77 billion.
He pointed out that the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) intends to intensify its operations in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, continue exploration activities in the Gabar region of Şırnak province and other areas in southeastern Anatolia, while simultaneously expanding its external activities through partnerships and acquisitions.
He added that Turkey seeks to enhance the corporation’s activities beyond its borders, noting that the seismic survey vessel Oruç Reis is currently heading toward the coast of Pakistan.
In this context, he mentioned that drilling operations off the coast of Somalia are ongoing, with the possibility of conducting future exploration activities in the maritime zones belonging to Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon, emphasizing that decisions regarding these operations will be made based on economic viability and geological conditions.
On another note, Bayraktar expressed Turkey’s desire to extend the natural gas import contract with Algeria, which expires next year, and to increase the volume of supplies, praising the reliability of the Algerian company Sonatrach in this regard.
As for Sudan, he revealed that discussions have been held with the country regarding cooperation in mining, oil, gas, and electricity production, anticipating an expansion of Turkish companies’ activities there in the coming period.
