On his visit to Tripoli, Turkey’s Minister for Energy and Natural Resources, Taner Yildiz (pictured), said he wants to buy 10 million barrels of oil a year from Libya.
Turkey already buy 7 million barrels (one million tonnes) of Libyan oil a year, following an agreement in June, but the minister stated:
“We can meet the oil demand (from) Libya now that supply from Iran is decreasing ... The amount of oil we buy from there may increase to over a million tonnes.”
Turkey wants to move away from Iran as a supplier, due to the US and EU sanctions against Iran, but the Minister also said that he would extend (but not increase) purchases of crude oil from Iran.
According to Reuters, the state-run Turkish Petroleum International Company (TPIC), which explores for hydrocarbons overseas, is seeking 1 million tonnes of Libyan crude in exchange for the offshore exploration work it is doing for Tripoli.
(Sources: Libya Herald, Reuters)
