Turkey secures Iraqi oil stake in historic energy alliance

Turkey's state-owned petroleum company has acquired a 15 percent stake in the Kirkuk oilfield in northern Iraq, a move that could deliver up to 1 million barrels of crude oil daily to Ankara. The agreement was announced Tuesday during a joint news conference between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in the Turkish capital, marking a significant recalibration of energy ties between the two neighbors.

The timing is deliberate. The original crude oil agreement between the countries, signed in 1975 and operationalized through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline that carries Iraqi oil to Turkey's Mediterranean terminal, expired on July 27. Rather than simply renewing that arrangement, Turkey proposed an entirely new framework for energy cooperation. The new deal grants Turkish Petroleum a stake in BP Energy Company of Kirkuk Limited under a share-transfer agreement, fundamentally changing the structure of how Iraqi oil reaches Turkish markets.

Erdogan confirmed during the news conference that al-Zaidi had offered to supply Turkey with the full 1 million barrels per day. "Once we transfer 1 million barrels of oil from our neighbour Iraq, it will meet our needs," Erdogan said. For Iraq, the arrangement addresses an urgent problem: the closure of the Strait of Hormuz following the U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran that began in February has made alternative export routes critical. Turkey, with its geographic position and existing pipeline infrastructure, suddenly became far more valuable to Baghdad as a conduit for crude.

But the energy dimension alone does not capture the full weight of this agreement. Mehmet Celik, editorial coordinator for Daily Sabah, told Al Jazeera that the deal operates on multiple levels simultaneously. "The significance of this deal is beyond mere energy ties," he said. Turkey is diversifying its energy sources, yes, but the arrangement also strengthens security cooperation and advances what Celik called "the development road project"—a reference to broader regional infrastructure and trade initiatives. The three-part connection between the countries—security and defense, energy, and transportation—creates layers of interdependency that bind the two nations more tightly as the Middle East grows more volatile.

Turkey's military presence in northern Iraq complicates the relationship. Turkish forces maintain approximately 50 bases of varying sizes across Erbil, Duhok, and Nineveh provinces, hosting around 5,000 soldiers and military equipment. The stated purpose is to combat the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which Turkey, the United States, and the European Union classify as a terrorist organization. Though the PKK announced its disarmament in mid-2025 as part of a peace agreement ending 40 years of conflict with Ankara, Turkey continues to view the group's presence in the mountainous regions of northern Iraq as a national security threat. During the news conference, Erdogan emphasized Turkey's commitment to achieving "a terror-free Turkey and our vision of a terror-free region."

For Iraq, the energy deal offers both opportunity and complexity. The country needs reliable export channels as regional tensions persist. For Turkey, the arrangement diversifies energy sources beyond existing suppliers while cementing its role as an indispensable transit point for Middle Eastern oil. The agreement suggests that even as geopolitical tensions reshape the region, the practical necessities of energy security and trade can still forge durable partnerships between neighboring states.