Turkey is making fresh moves to reinforce its energy foothold in the Eastern Mediterranean through expanded cooperation with Libya. On Monday, Turkish Ambassador to Tripoli Guven Begec met with Libya’s Oil and Gas Minister Khalifa Abdul-Sadiq in the Libyan capital to discuss joint ventures in oil, gas, and broader energy projects. Both the Libyan Energy Ministry and the Turkish Embassy announced the meeting, emphasizing the importance of closer institutional collaboration between the two nations to advance mutual energy interests.
As reported by Ezgi Akin for Al Monitor, the talks come amid Ankara’s drive to reduce its dependence on foreign energy imports and secure access to hydrocarbon resources off the Libyan coast. Libya’s Eastern Mediterranean waters are widely believed to hold untapped oil and natural gas reserves, making them a critical frontier for Turkey’s long-term energy strategy. The Turkish government has signed multiple memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Tripoli in recent years, aiming to develop offshore exploration projects and energy infrastructure that Libya cannot advance alone due to financial and technical constraints.
Central to this effort is a June 2025 MoU between Turkey’s state-owned energy company TPAO and Libya’s National Oil Corporation. The agreement permits Turkey to conduct seismic surveys across roughly 10,000 square kilometers of Libyan waters in exchange for technical expertise, investment, and collaborative development of costly offshore ventures. These projects are intended to give Ankara a more self-sufficient energy posture while providing the Tripoli-based government with critical foreign support for resource development.
However, the deepening energy partnership has not been without controversy. Regional rivals, particularly Egypt, have strongly objected to the Libya-Turkey arrangements. Cairo submitted a note verbale to the United Nations last month rejecting the June MoU, arguing that the designated area for seismic surveys overlaps with Egypt’s maritime territory in the Mediterranean. The Egyptian government has refused to recognize any legal consequences of the deal, describing it as a violation of its sovereignty and maritime rights. Greece has also voiced opposition, citing international maritime law and territorial encroachments.
Underlying these tensions is Turkey’s 2019 maritime agreement with Libya’s Tripoli-based government, which redrew Mediterranean boundaries in a manner beneficial to Ankara’s energy ambitions. Though criticized by Egypt and Greece, Turkey hopes that Libya’s eastern-based parliament — backed by strongman Khalifa Hifter — will eventually ratify the 2019 accord, legitimizing Ankara’s offshore exploration rights. The parliament agreed in June 2025 to review the deal for potential ratification, signaling that Turkey’s sustained diplomatic engagement could yield long-term strategic gains.
Turkey’s energy push is closely intertwined with its broader geopolitical involvement in Libya. Since the 2011 fall of Moammar Gadhafi and the subsequent civil war, Ankara has maintained one of the largest foreign military presences in the country, rivaled only by Russia. During the conflict, Turkey actively supported the Tripoli government against Hifter’s Moscow-backed eastern forces. Although a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2020 halted major hostilities, Libya remains divided between Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah’s administration in the west and Hifter’s Benghazi-based authority in the east.
Turkey’s latest energy outreach suggests a dual strategy: secure economic opportunities in Libyan waters while maintaining influence over both sides of the country’s fractured political landscape. With regional tensions simmering, Ankara appears determined to entrench its Eastern Mediterranean presence despite persistent opposition from neighboring powers.
Photo: Gemini AI