Milliyet – Türkiye’s state-owned oil and gas company TPAO and oil giant Royal Dutch Shell have signed an agreement to jointly explore for oil in the Black Sea. The exploration efforts will concentrate on western Black Sea with Shell bearing the cost of deep see operations while drilling will be jointly funded, according to the deal.
Türkiye has expanded the budget for oil exploration 13.5 fold in the last decade, Türkiye’s Minister of Energy, Taner Yildiz, said during the signing ceremony as the country increasingly looks for domestic sources of energy to fuel its growing economy.
TPAO and Shell are also partners in another hydrocarbon exploration deal signed in 2011 covering Türkiye’s southeastern province of Diyarbakir.