Türkiye has signed a cooperation agreement with Somalia pertaining to exploration and development of offshore oil and natural gas, reported Reuters.

The Turkish energy ministry stated that the agreement involves exploration, assessment, development and production of oil in Somalia's terrestrial and maritime blocks.

Türkiye energy minister Alparslan Bayraktar on social media platform X stated: “With this agreement, we will carry out joint activities to bring the resources of Somalia to the Somali people. We aim to strengthen Turkey's presence in the Horn of Africa with new collaborations in the field of energy.”

Described by the ministry as an inter-governmental agreement, the deal also includes the transportation, distribution, refining, sales and service operations of oil and other products derived from both land and sea projects.

Separately, in a panel, Bayraktar said: “Oil and natural gas exploration offshore of Somalia, and it looks more like oil for now, will start very soon in the areas we have identified. We will maybe send our seismic (exploration) vessel there in the first phase.”

Türkiye's interest in energy cooperation extends beyond Somalia, with Bayraktar expressing interest in engaging in oil and gas exploration with Libya.

“We are interested in offshore Libya, our interest in some areas on land continues, but Somalia is an exploration operation that we are especially considering on the sea,” Bayraktar added.

Last year, Reuters reported that Turkey extended its liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply deal with Algeria for three years.

In a statement on X, Bayraktar said the deal was signed between Turkish Government-backed energy company Botas and Algerian state-owned oil and gas company Sonatrach.

The original gas supply agreement between Botas and Sonatrach was signed in 1988 and has since been renewed.

Under the agreement, Türkiye will continue to buy 4.4 billion cubic metres of LNG from Algeria annually.