Libya and Turkey sign offshore energy deal

Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), paving the way for offshore oil and gas exploration in Libyan waters.

The agreement was formalised in Istanbul by NOC Chairman Masoud Suleiman and TPAO Director Ahmet Türkoğlu. According to a statement issued by the NOC, Turkish Petroleum will undertake extensive geological and geophysical studies across four offshore areas deemed to have strong exploration potential.

As part of the MoU, a two-dimensional seismic survey will be conducted, covering an estimated 10,000 kilometres. The data collected will then be processed in detail, with the entire programme expected to be completed within nine months.

The deal comes at a time of renewed maritime tensions between Libya and Greece. Just days earlier, Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) summoned the Greek ambassador, Nikolaos Garilidis, to protest what it described as Athens’ “unilateral actions” in contested maritime zones.

The move followed an announcement by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that naval vessels would be deployed to international waters off the Libyan coast. He described the operation as a “precautionary measure” aimed at monitoring irregular migration, and claimed it would be carried out “in coordination with Libyan authorities and other European forces”. “Smugglers will not dictate who enters our country,” Mitsotakis stated.

Both the GNU and Libya’s rival eastern-based administration have issued strong objections to Greece’s recent international tenders for hydrocarbon exploration south of Crete, arguing that parts of the designated areas fall within Libya’s undelimited maritime jurisdiction and sovereign rights.

The agreement between the NOC and TPAO is likely to add further complexity to already fraught regional maritime relations, particularly in the eastern Mediterranean, where longstanding disputes over energy rights and territorial waters persist.