Turkey to Collaborate in Syrian Search for Oil, Gas

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Turkey is ready to work with Damascus to look for oil and gas in Syria, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Wednesday.

• Turkish state oil company TPAO and private companies are ready for seismical surveys and exploration drilling both offshore and onshore in Syria, Bayraktar said at a joint press conference in Damascus with Syrian Energy Minister Mohamed al-Bashir.

• Turkey operates a deep sea drilling fleet and is drilling an exploration well off the coast of Somalia. The state oil company also won a licence to look for oil in Libyan offshore fields.

• Turkey and Syria will commission new infrastructure over the next few weeks, tripling electricity transmission capacity to over 800 megawatts, Bayraktar said.

• Turkish state owned mining company MTA IC and Syria's general directorate for mineral sources also signed an unbinding agreement on phosphate resources during the visit, paving the way for an eventual joint venture, according to Turkey's energy ministry.

(Reuters)