Turkey’s state-owned oil and gas company signed a memorandum of understanding with Exxon Mobil (XOM) to explore new oil and natural gas prospects in new areas of the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea, Turkey’s energy minister announced Thursday.
Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the accord, signed between Turkish Petroleum and ESSO Exploration International, aims to increase operational efficiency and pave the way for new discoveries.
Turkey has increased offshore exploration in the Black Sea since the Sakarya gas field began supplying gas to the Turkish grid in 2023, with production reaching 9.5M cm/day in 2025; a recently announced new gas discovery near Sakarya added an estimated 75B cm of reserves from the Goktepe-3 well, lifting total Black Sea reserves discovered to 785B cm.
The agreement also follows broader energy cooperation between Turkey and the U.S., including a liquefied natural gas supply deal signed earlier this year.