TPAO Inks Turkish Exploration Deals with Exxon, EOG

According to a report by Reuters, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation, or TPAO, has signed oil exploration deals with ExxonMobil and EOG in an effort to increase the exploitation of hydrocarbon reserves in Turkey. The deals are for joint exploration in Turkey's southeastern region, as well as in the Black Sea, which is estimated by TPAO to contain 10 billion barrels of crude and 1.5 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves.

TPAO's Chief Executive, Mehmet Uysal, said in a news conference Tuesday that the company "signed a non-disclosure agreement with ExxonMobil for the exploration of oil in the region of southeastern Anatolia," the area of Turkey that borders Iraq. 

Uysal also noted that Turkey signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Iraq's neighboring country, Iran, for exploitation of natural gas reserves in the South Pars field. Uysal sees investment costs for the South Pars project rising to $6 billion from a previous estimate of $3.5 billion.

Aside from the two contracts signed today, Reuters reported that TPAO is also discussing exploration opportunities in Iraq with BP, Shell, Gazprom and India's ONGC.