Turkiye takes ‘historic step’ on energy alliance with Iraq

Turkiye might soon receive up to ۱ million barrels per day of oil from Iraq after buying a stake in the British Petroleum-run Kirkuk oilfield in northern Iraq, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

At a joint news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in Ankara on Tuesday, Erdogan said state-owned Turkish Petroleum (TPOA) would acquire a ۱۵ percent stake in BP Energy Company of Kirkuk Limited under a separate share‑transfer agreement.

Al-Zaidi was in Turkiye to discuss bilateral security, trade, transport and water management, as well as a new energy deal.

The visit came just as the Iraq-Turkiye crude oil agreement – which in ۱۹۷۵ operationalised the Kirkuk-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline moving Iraqi crude to the Turkish Mediterranean terminal of Ceyhan – expired on July ۲۷.

Rather than renew the agreement, Turkiye said it was seeking a new energy cooperation framework with Iraq.

Erdogan confirmed that al-Zaidi had offered to supply Turkiye with ۱ million bpd. “Yes, that’s correct. Once we transfer ۱ million barrels of oil from our neighbour Iraq, it will meet our needs”, he said.

‘Diversifying the sources’

“The significance of this deal is beyond mere energy ties,” Mehmet Celik, editorial coordinator for Daily Sabah, told Al Jazeera.

“Turkiye is diversifying its energy sources, as it has always done. But with Iraq, there are two other dimensions: security and the development road project.”

“This is not an alternative to existing deals, but rather diversifying the sources, as far as Turkiye is concerned,” he said, adding that “the situation in Hormuz has made Turkiye’s proposals regarding alternative energy and trade routes more attractive.”

The launch of the US-Israel war on Iran in February and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz elevated Ankara’s importance for Baghdad, which pressed Turkish authorities to resume the export of oil through the Iraq-Turkiye pipeline after years of suspension.

“The three-level connection between Turkiye and Iraq; that is, security and defence, energy, and transportation, while increasing interdependency, will also strengthen Turkiye-Iraq ties as the regional situation becomes more complex,” Celik said.

Maintaining relations

Relations between Turkiye and Iraq have fluctuated over the past decade but remained a priority, particularly for Iraq in relation to oil and water resources.

The most complicated issue concerns security, particularly the presence of Turkish forces on Iraqi soil to fight the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which Turkiye, the US and European Union have designated as a “terrorist” group.

Military estimates suggest that Turkiye has about ۵۰ bases of varying sizes in northern Iraq’s Erbil, Duhok and Nineveh, hosting some ۵,۰۰۰ soldiers and weaponry.

In mid-۲۰۲۵, the PKK announced its disarmament as part of a peace deal with Ankara to end ۴۰ years of war against the state, but Turkiye views the armed group’s presence in mountainous parts of northern Iraq as a national security threat.

“We are in close dialogue with our Iraqi brothers to ensure that our process of a terror‑free Turkiye and our vision of a terror‑free region become a reality,” Erdogan said during the news conference with al-Zaidi.