Kirkuk investment featured in Iraqi-Turkish talks on oil and gas opportunities in the province Wednesday. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Samaan Agha joined First Deputy Governor Rebwar Taha and Turkish Ambassador Anil Bora Inan. Inan arrived earlier that day with a delegation from Türkiye’s Foreign Economic Relations Board, known as DEIK. Together, officials explored potential partnerships in energy and other investment projects. The discussions formed part of wider efforts by Iraq and Türkiye to expand economic cooperation.
The meeting followed Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s July 28 visit to Ankara. There, Al-Zaidi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to deepen cooperation in energy, trade, investment and transport. They also signed three memorandums covering industrial cooperation, police training and youth affairs. In addition, Baghdad and Ankara set a medium-term goal of raising bilateral trade from about $17 billion to $30 billion. They identified the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline and Iraq’s Development Road project as priorities.
Energy projects already link Türkiye’s investment interests with Kirkuk’s oilfields. Iraq has tasked BP with redeveloping four fields: Kirkuk, Bai Hassan, Khabbaz and Jambur. The redevelopment aims to lift their combined output from roughly 328,000 barrels per day to more than 450,000. It also seeks to improve the recovery of associated gas. Meanwhile, Türkiye’s state-owned Petroleum Corporation agreed in July to acquire a 15 percent stake in BP Energy Company of Kirkuk Limited.
Kirkuk also plays a major role in northern Iraq’s oil exports through pipelines to Türkiye’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. In August, Baghdad and Ankara signed a one-year agreement covering about 750,000 barrels per day of pipeline capacity. Iraqi officials have also outlined plans to raise exports through Türkiye to around one million barrels daily. These transport links help explain the province’s place in broader energy discussions.
However, Turkish investment interest in Kirkuk extends beyond oil and gas. During a May visit, Ambassador Inan explored opportunities in electricity generation, agriculture, industry, infrastructure and tourism. Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat said in July that Turkish contractors had completed more than 1,150 projects across Iraq. He valued that work at nearly $40 billion. The latest talks add to this wider commercial engagement, although officials have not announced specific agreements arising from Wednesday’s meeting.
