Economy
Türkiye eyes new corridor to carry oil, gas from Iraq, Gulf to Europe
Türkiye is seeking to extend pipeline infrastructure to transport oil and natural gas from Iraq and the Gulf to Europe, according to Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar.
Ankara and Baghdad signed on Saturday a one-year deal on maintaining the use of the crude oil pipeline running from Kirkuk in northern Iraq to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.
The agreement extended a decades-long bilateral arrangement that expired last week and that allowed the operation of Baghdad’s only functioning export pipeline, the Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline.
The deal comes as Iraq moves to strengthen the resilience of its oil export infrastructure following disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S.-Iran war began in February.
The extension allows time for talks on a more comprehensive agreement between Türkiye and Iraq covering cooperation in the oil, electricity and water resources sectors.
Türkiye wants the pipeline, with a capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd), to be fully utilized and possibly extended to southern Iraqi oil fields.
One project under consideration is a pipeline that would connect southern Iraq’s Basra to western Haditha and from there to the Ceyhan port in Türkiye and the port of Baniyas on Syria’s coast.
The Iraq-Türkiye pipeline has been largely idle since 2023 after exports from Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) region were halted following legal and commercial disputes, although flows through it resumed in a limited capacity last year.
The new deal provides for a minimum export volume of 750,000 barrels of Iraqi crude per day to Ceyhan, where some volumes would be processed in Turkish refineries while the remainder would reach international markets.
The pipeline was last carrying around 200,000 barrels per day. Bayraktar said it could eventually be expanded to between 2 million and 2.5 million barrels per day.
According to Bayraktar, Türkiye is proposing a new crude oil pipeline stretching from Silopi on the Turkish border to Iraq’s Basra.
The minister argued that expanding alternative export routes has become increasingly important amid security concerns surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 million barrels of oil per day transited before the conflict.
He said additional capacity through Türkiye would provide producers in Iraq and Gulf countries with an alternative export corridor should disruptions occur in the region.
The minister also said the expanded corridor could support storage, refining and petrochemical investments around Ceyhan while helping finance the planned Development Road transport corridor linking Iraq’s Grand Faw Port with Türkiye and Europe.
All energy routes ‘converge in Türkiye’
Bayraktar said negotiations with Iraq were also centered on natural gas cooperation. The sides are also discussing expanding electricity exports from Türkiye to help address Iraq’s power shortages.
In the near term, Türkiye could use its existing infrastructure to export gas to Iraq to help fuel Iraqi power plants, said Bayraktar.
Over the longer term, Ankara is proposing construction of a gas pipeline alongside the planned Basra oil pipeline and electricity transmission lines, he noted.
The project would allow gas produced in Qatar and other Gulf countries to flow north through Iraq into Türkiye and onward to European markets.
“Our larger project is to build a natural gas pipeline alongside the oil pipeline extending to Basra so that, in the future, Qatari gas and other Gulf gas can reach Türkiye through Iraq and then continue to Europe,” Bayraktar said.
That, he said, would establish a “global hub” where all energy routes “converge in Türkiye.”
He added that Türkiye’s existing energy infrastructure, including more than 20,000 kilometers of high-pressure natural gas transmission pipelines, 220,000 kilometers of distribution networks, LNG terminals and underground storage facilities, provides the foundation for becoming a regional energy transit and trading hub.
Under a separate agreement signed on the sidelines of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s visit to Ankara last week, state-run energy company Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) acquired a 15% stake in a consortium operating in Iraq’s Kirkuk region.
TPAO will join BP and ConocoPhillips in developing the Baba and Avanah domes and the Bai Hassan, Jambur and Khabbaz fields.
The Kirkuk project contains an estimated 3 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves, representing an economic value of roughly $250 billion at current prices, said Bayraktar.
The wider contract area is believed to hold resource potential of up to 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
According to the latest field-level production data published by Iraq’s Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the fields currently produce around 300,000 barrels of oil per day.
Bayraktar said there was a long-term production potential of up to 1.2 million barrels per day.
The recent deals, the minister said, go beyond upstream oil development and form part of a broader strategy to diversify regional energy routes at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty.
“The world is entering a new normal characterized by persistent conflicts, and energy infrastructure has become a primary target,” Bayraktar said.
Bayraktar reiterated the government’s ambition to turn TPAO into an international producer capable of reaching 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Türkiye’s largest company by market capitalization, defense and electronics giant Aselsan, posted a 25% real-term increase in revenue in the first half of the year, it said on Tuesday.
Revenues increased to TL 88.5 billion ($1.8 billion), driven by new contracts and investments in production capacity and research, it said.
The company signed new contracts worth $4.9 billion in the first half, up 72% from the same period last year.
Its total order backlog also increased 45% to $23.2 billion, reflecting strong domestic and international demand for its defense products.
Aselsan increased its capacity and scale investments by a whopping 195% to $323 million, while its research and development (R&D) spending, focusing on critical technologies like quantum computing and underwater systems, jumped 41% to $804 million.
The company’s net debt-to-EBITDA ratio declined from 0.57 to 0.55.
Its EBITDA margin rose by 120 basis points to 26.3%, generating total EBITDA of $488 million, according to the financial report.
The defense giant’s operational cash flow totaled $319.7 million in the first half, while it maintained an equity ratio of 56%, well above sector averages.
The recently commissioned 17,360 square meters (186,861 square feet) of new production and test centers will be dedicated to smart munitions and defense systems to support the firm’s growing scale.
The company also launched 19 robotic automation lines to enhance delivery speed and production quality of Aselsan’s offerings.
CEO Ahmet Akyol said the company’s financial discipline would allow it to invest in future capabilities while maintaining a strong balance sheet.
Aselsan’s total order backlog is expected to exceed the $30 billion threshold starting next year.
The company also launched civilian projects this year, including signaling technologies for Europe’s fastest fully autonomous metro line and a new open-heart surgery device, according to the report.
Aselsan also highlighted its inclusion in the Forbes Global 2000 list as the first and only Turkish defense company to achieve the distinction.
Major energy companies continue to book massive earnings as they profit from volatility caused by the U.S.-Iran conflict.
Big oil companies are enjoying soaring gains from their trades as oil and gas futures swing between big gains and losses on the latest headlines linked to the U.S.-Iran war.
Crude prices have been volatile throughout the conflict and were far higher in the second quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier.
Six of Europe’s largest oil companies posted combined first-quarter profits of $22 billion, more than 40% higher than last year. Profits at BP more than doubled to $3.9 billion in the second quarter, the British giant said Tuesday. Its shares plunged, however, as traders said the strong growth had been widely expected.
And Saudi Aramco reported a 44% year-over-year increase in second-quarter net profit that reached $32.69 billion, driven by higher crude oil, refined products and chemicals prices.
Aramco’s gains came despite Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the key conduit for Gulf oil, and attacks on Saudi ships in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
The supercharged performances from big oil in Europe and the Middle East follow reports of enormous profits from the largest U.S. oil drillers last week.
As the conflict has dragged on, high oil prices have driven up the cost of gasoline, jet fuel and diesel, which has led to higher shipping costs.
In the West, filling up the car or buying a plane ticket is costing consumers more. But the situation in parts of Asia is more dire because the region depends more heavily on fuel exported through the Strait of Hormuz. Fuel supplies have run low in some countries, leading to rationing and sporadic closures of schools and government offices.
‘Too much money’
Despite oil prices falling to their lowest level in three weeks Tuesday, big U.S. energy companies drew the ire of President Donald Trump, who criticized them this week for making “too much money” because of the war.
The five biggest Western energy majors – BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies – reported combined net profits of almost $47 billion in the second quarter.
Trump said oil giants should “give some of that back to the public,” a notable break from his usual alliance with the industry.
“I don’t like it. They’re making too much money, okay? Based on a shortage, they’re making too much money,” he said.
Trump said he’s not happy with Chevron and Exxon Mobil, though energy prices skyrocketed only after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February, and the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed off to tanker traffic.
About 20% of the world’s oil typically flows through the strait.
“Chevron, too much money. ExxonMobil, too much. Too much money,” Trump said.
Exxon Mobil on Friday reported that its second quarter profits doubled to $14.5 billion, boosted by record diesel production. The oil giant, based in Spring, Texas, brought in $116 billion in revenue, up 42%.
Chevron, based in Houston, nearly quadrupled its profits to $12 billion and revenue jumped 56% to more than $70 billion.
Higher gas prices and cost-of-living concerns pose a political risk to Trump ahead of November’s midterm elections when his fellow Republicans are seeking to retain control of Congress. Retail gasoline prices, currently averaging around $4.10 nationwide, have climbed more than 30% since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.
A spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute, a trade organization representing U.S. oil firms, said, “Today’s higher prices are driven by global supply, demand and continued uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz and other critical shipping lanes – not by any one company.”
Trump claimed oil prices would “drop through the floor” when the conflict with Iran ends, demanding the industry lower prices at the pump.
“They better cut the retail price, the consumer price,” he said.
While oil plunged after Trump called off a planned “massive attack” on Iran over the weekend, prices at the gas pump tend to lag and do not necessarily follow suit.
On Tuesday, the price of U.S. crude oil fell 5.4%, or $4.36, to $75.98 per barrel. The sharp decline followed comments by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who told CNBC that the U.S. and Iran “may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait.”
Oil prices for U.S. crude are down from around $92 a barrel in late July, but still more than 13% higher than when the conflict with Iran started.
Brent crude, the international standard, fell 4.9% to $83.87 per barrel.
A resolution to the Iran conflict, which has lasted more than five months, could give oil shippers the ability to send vessels out of the Persian Gulf, where tankers of oil and other products have been trapped during the fighting.
Shares of major oil companies are up by around 20% to 30% this year, easily outpacing the 13% gains on the S&P 500.
Backed by Emirati Mubadala Capital, a Brazil-based venture is working on what could be one of the new and rare examples of fruits providing power for commercial aircraft.
In Brazil’s Minas Gerais state north of Sao Paulo, more than 200 researchers are racing to develop and commercialize an oil-rich fruit so that it can one day power jetliners, according to an exclusive report by Bloomberg News, published on Tuesday.
Agronomists, biotechnicians and automation experts are the brains behind a $3 billion project to plant the little-known macauba palm tree across as many as 144,000 hectares (356,000 acres) of land, an area slightly larger than the city of Los Angeles and then harvest it for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the report suggests.
Once the first trees planted start bearing fruit, likely in 2030, energy and biofuels company Acelen Renovaveis plans to begin processing macauba oil at a biorefinery it’s building in another part of Brazil.
Acelen Renovaveis, which is fully owned by Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Capital, hopes to solidify Brazil’s role as one of the world’s top producers of biofuels and a leading supplier of clean jet fuel by industrializing the exotic fruit.
The company says its biorefinery under construction in Bahia state could eventually produce 20,000 barrels of SAF a day. That would translate to a big jump in worldwide output, which in 2025 was 41,000 barrels a day.
‘Fruit of the future’
Macauba is indigenous to South America and is naturally adapted to the semi-arid regions where Acelen Renovaveis is planting its trees.
The individual fruit is roughly the size of a small plum and has a fleshy pulp, which is what will be processed. According to the company, macauba can deliver seven to 10 times more oil per hectare than soybeans.
“We call it the fruit of the future,” Victor Barra, director of agribusiness, said in a greenhouse full of macauba clones and seedlings.
“It’s literally a power plant, an energy plant.”
The trees in Minas Gerais will grow on degraded pasture so they don’t compete with food production. Brazil has roughly 40 million hectares of degraded pasture. With that potential at hand, Mubadala Capital, the alternative asset management arm of wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co., has longer-term plans for up to five biorefineries in Brazil, Bloomberg reports.
Reports in recent years, including the one from Reuters in 2024, suggested that Mubadala Capital intended to invest about $13.5 billion in a major biofuels project in Brazil over the next decade.
Despite offering the promise of sustainability and at times when aviation fuel prices are on the rise, SAF’s share of all aviation fuel globally was at a shy 0.6% last year, according to the data compiled by Bloomberg.
Syria and Iraq are in the final stages of talks on a contract to restore a key oil pipeline between the two countries, a Syrian official said Tuesday, with the work expected to take about three years.
Last month, Damascus signed a memorandum of understanding with Baghdad to revive the Haditha-Banias pipeline for transporting oil from Iraq to Syria’s coast, linking Iraqi production to export markets in the Mediterranean and beyond.
A consortium of three companies, including Chevron, is set to carry out the project.
The U.S. State Department last month welcomed the plan, calling it “of bilateral and regional strategic significance.”
On Tuesday, Syrian Petroleum Company CEO Youssef Qablawi told a press conference at the Rmeilan oil field in the country’s northeast that “negotiations have begun to finalize the contract.”
He expressed hope that the talks would be completed within three months, followed by engineering studies, procurement and restoration work, expected to take “three years at most.”
Syrian state news agency SANA said the pipeline, vital for Iraqi oil exports via the Mediterranean, dates to 1952 but went out of service in 2003 after being damaged during the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Qablawi hailed “a vital project” for Syria, putting the pipeline’s capacity at “between 1.5 million and 2 million barrels a day” and saying the project would generate significant revenues.
The prospect of a pipeline link to the Mediterranean via Syria has gained new urgency with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz – a vital maritime route for Gulf oil and gas exports – as a result of the Middle East war.
The closure of Hormuz has hit Iraqi oil exports hard, and in April Baghdad said it began shipping crude through Syria by truck to circumvent the strait.
Syria’s new authorities, who ousted longtime dictator Bashar Assad in December 2024, have been seeking to reboot the country’s economy and revive its infrastructure and institutions after more than a decade of war.
Damascus now controls all the country’s oil and gas fields, after taking over areas previously held by the terrorist group YPG in the north and northeast earlier this year, including Rmeilan.
Texas-based firm HKN Energy is operating the fields in the northeast under a contract signed with Damascus.
At Rmeilan, the company’s president, Mark Rollins, said Tuesday that “this is one of Syria’s most important oil fields,” adding: “Our team has been here on the ground for about two months.”
Qablawi said HKN Energy was in charge of repairing existing wells and drilling new ones.
Syria aims to produce one million barrels of oil per day by 2030 and is seeking to broaden international cooperation on exploration and production.
Qablawi said Syria’s own oil production was currently between 100,000 and 110,000 barrels a day, but was projected to reach 250,000 by the end of next year.
Türkiye’s debt capital market is expected to keep expanding, and the country is likely to remain a major global issuer of sukuk and emerging market debt this year, Fitch Ratings said Tuesday.
This will be driven by high external financing requirements, upcoming maturities, wider fiscal deficits and funding diversification goals, the credit ratings agency said in its debt capital market monitor report covering the first half of 2026.
Fitch said Türkiye’s debt capital market remained largely driven by government securities and grew 9% year-over-year to more than $516 billion at the end of the first half of the year despite volatility related to the Middle East conflict.
The ratings agency said Türkiye became the world’s fifth-largest sukuk market in the first six months and remains one of only three G-20 countries with an active sukuk market.
Outstanding sukuk assets increased 25.8% from a year earlier to more than $41 billion, significantly outpacing the 8% growth recorded in the conventional bond market, Fitch said. Sukuk were about 14% of debt capital market issuance in the first six months, compared to 8% a year ago.
According to the report, Turkish lira-denominated securities accounted for 64% of the country’s debt capital market, while U.S. dollar-denominated instruments represented 33%.
Excluding China, Türkiye ranked as the sixth-largest issuer of U.S. dollar-denominated debt among emerging markets during the first half of the year, with a 7.4% market share.
Fitch forecasts Türkiye’s debt capital market will expand to around $550 billion by the end of 2026.
The agency said banks and corporates are also expected to continue tapping debt markets as financing opportunities arise, although investor sentiment and volatility stemming from regional conflict could weigh on issuance activity.
“Türkiye has low government debt, and sustained access to external financing through periods of stress. However, further regional escalation could weigh on investor sentiment, yields, and liquidity,” said Bashar Al Natoor, global head of Islamic finance at Fitch.
“Foreign investor demand for recent Turkish sovereign U.S. dollar sukuk and bonds remained intact, but foreign participation in the local-currency market is falling.”
Türkiye has joined a small group of countries capable of producing advanced infrared detectors after its top defense contractor developed a new generation of electro-optical sensors for use across a wide range of military platforms.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Aselsan introduced its domestically developed infrared detector family, designed for applications ranging from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and air defense missiles to next-generation combat aircraft and armored vehicles.
The defense electronics maker said it had developed the most critical electro-optical components for strategic systems using national capabilities.
“Leveraging our expertise in microelectronics, we have positioned Türkiye among the select countries capable of developing and manufacturing infrared detectors,” Aselsan said.
According to the company, the new detector family has been developed in both cooled and uncooled configurations to meet different operational requirements.
Aselsan produces radar equipment, drone components and air-defense systems and is Türkiye’s most valuable publicly traded company in market capitalization terms.
Supporting key defense platforms
The domestically developed detectors are already being integrated into several major Turkish defense programs, the company said.
It cited their use in the Yamgöz 200 surveillance system fitted to the Altay main battle tank, the Toygun electro-optical system aboard the Bayraktar Kızılelma unmanned combat aircraft, and sensors used in the Hisar air defense missile system, part of Türkiye’s multilayered Steel Dome air defense architecture.
The infrared detectors are intended to enhance the ability of these platforms to detect, identify and track targets at night and in adverse weather conditions.
Strategic technology
Infrared detectors are among the most critical components in modern electro-optical systems, enabling thermal imaging, target acquisition, missile seekers, reconnaissance payloads and precision targeting systems.
Aselsan said the technology is also used in unmanned aerial systems, missile seeker heads, targeting systems and the electro-optical suite of Türkiye’s indigenous fifth-generation fighter jet Kaan.
Only a limited number of technologically advanced countries currently manufacture high-performance military-grade infrared detectors, making the capability an important benchmark of technological sophistication.
Infrared detectors are also used in a range of civilian sectors, including industrial inspection, security, environmental monitoring and scientific imaging.
The ability to produce such sensors domestically provides strategic advantages by improving surveillance and target detection capabilities in low-visibility environments, including darkness, dust, smoke and fog, while reducing dependence on foreign suppliers for critical defense technologies.
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