What happened
Bayraktar said Türkiye intends to work with oil companies as it increases investment in exploration. He identified Italy’s Eni as a prospective partner and said the parties were close to concluding an agreement for what he described as a major project. He did not disclose the project’s scope or location, saying details would be released only after the deal is finalised.
Speaking at the Italy–Türkiye Energy Partnership and Business Matching Event at Venice Palace in Istanbul, Bayraktar said energy and mining offered significant scope for cooperation between the two countries. He said partnerships could extend beyond Türkiye and Italy to third countries, including markets in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.
He also said Türkiye would publish its National Energy 2040 Plan the following week. The plan would put electrification at the centre of the country’s approach to rising energy demand, import dependence and decarbonisation. Bayraktar identified additional generating capacity, stronger transmission infrastructure, efficient energy use, renewable power and nuclear energy as key elements.
Why it matters
The prospective Eni agreement could add an Italian corporate partner to Türkiye’s oil exploration activity, although its commercial and technical terms are not yet public. Italian firms are already involved in natural-gas production in Türkiye’s Black Sea.
For Turkish and Italian businesses, the planned energy strategy signals potential work in power generation, grids, efficiency and electrification across industry and buildings. Bayraktar also said SACE, Italy’s official export credit agency, had provided finance for projects developed jointly by the two countries.
The comments also point to Türkiye’s role in regional gas supply. Bayraktar said European Union countries were looking to Türkiye for alternatives to Russian gas, while Türkiye was developing projects intended to support its own supply security as well as that of Europe and the wider region.
What's next
Bayraktar said the Eni announcement would follow completion of the agreement, without giving a timetable. He said Türkiye would reveal its National Energy 2040 Plan the following week and would announce a larger renewable-energy objective at COP31. Türkiye had previously set a 120 GW renewable-energy target at COP29 in Baku in 2024.
