By Patrick Sykes and Anna Shiryaevskaya

Jul 23, 2025 (Bloomberg) –From US natural gas to Southeast Asian oil and and uranium in Sub-Saharan Africa, Turkey is on a global hunt for energy and commodities, leveraging its growing foreign policy clout for an edge in the competition for resources.

Ankara’s push is going full speed this year, with exploration deals signed on three continents – the latest just last week in Oman – and specialist ships secured to back them. Meanwhile, state gas company Botas is preparing for a new role as an international trader.

The aim is to secure access to crucial commodities to power the energy-hungry $1.4 trillion economy at a time of uncertainty about supply chains. That would mimic what China has done – on a much larger scale – since the 1990s through its own state firms’ international expansion. For President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, it’s also a way to boost Turkey’s influence and build economic relationships.

According to Ahmet Turkoglu, the head of state upstream company , which already produces some oil in Russia, Azerbaijan and Iraq as well as within Turkey, these are must-do projects.

“Geopolitical realities, such as security of supply and technology, are now imperatives, not options,” he said in a speech last month.

But the idea is wildly ambitious in parts, putting civil servants in charge of the type of exploration projects normally the preserve of giant energy conglomerates or smaller specialist businesses. That means the investment and spending comes with an element of risk for public money. 

“For a national oil company to be an frontier exploration company is a very high-risk venture with public funds,” said Valerie Marcel, executive director of New Producers for Sustainable Energy, a network of energy-producing governments. “It’s an area where there’s potential to make a lot of extra money, but also the potential to lose money.”

Sales Pitch

Turkey isn’t the only nation chasing commodities. Europe, for example, has unleashed a major push for liquefied natural gas as it weans itself off Russia.

As Ankara makes its pitch to foreign governments, it points to its deepwater Black Sea gas project as proof that it can deliver complicated projects at scale. There’s its location – between Europe and Asia – and relative lack of colonial baggage compared with western counterparts.

It’s also expanding its fleet of specialized vessels. TPAO recently bought two drillships from Norway’s Eldorado Drilling for around $245 million each.

This year, Energy Ministry-controlled companies have signed upstream agreements with Oman, Libya, Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Hungary – all countries with which Ankara has strengthened ties in recent years.

In mining, they’re studying gold deposits in Sudan, where Turkey has backed the government in a civil war. Officials have also said they’re discussing deals in Angola, Malaysia, Indonesia, Niger, Turkmenistan, Iraq and Bulgaria.

The talks with Niger, one of the world’s top uranium producers, show how Turkey has taken advantage of the country’s 2023 coup and the junta’s push to squeeze out longstanding French producer Orano SA.

Growing Influence

Controlling key natural resources abroad will boost Turkey’s influence in those countries, creating opportunities for cooperation in other fields, such as trade and defense. 

The playbook is a version of what China’s big national oil companies started doing three decades ago, first getting a foothold in developing countries. Since then, their reach has multiplied and firms have expanded their trading desks abroad, increasing their role in energy markets.

“Turkey pursues its energy diplomacy in conjunction with a larger political objective: to reinforce the country’s status as a regional power,” said Defne Arslan, senior director of the Atlantic Council in Turkey.

Energy Trading

Botas, Turkey’s national gas company, is also becoming more international as it transforms from an importer passively receiving supply into a global trader that can also buy and sell for profit.

It’s signed LNG import contracts that give it control over shipping for the first time, and is in talks for additional flexible volumes particularly from the US, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who declined to be identified discussing internal business.

The company plans to set up an office in Switzerland this year, according to one person, a move that would give it a presence alongside the world’s biggest commodity traders.

Botas, TPAO and the Energy Ministry didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Fast-growing US LNG supply and global demand mean lucrative trading opportunities. Traditional buyers from China to Japan often act as traders, seizing opportunistic deals to resell their LNG to Europe.

Access to global LNG would diversify Turkey’s sources beyond current main suppliers Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, while also potentially elevating the nation to the ranks of suppliers, increasing its influence in the global energy arena. 

In exploration, the most advanced new foreign project so far is Somalia, where a TPAO research ship has just finished a seven-month search for hydrocarbons. If the results – yet to be announced – are good, Turkey will have exclusive rights over production, adding a lucrative natural resource to its portfolio in the country.

But given the riskiness of some of the ventures, there are also questions about the costs. The government hasn’t said how the firms’ international expansion will be funded.

“Whether it’s the Black Sea or Somalia, public funds are being spent here,” said Ali Arif Akturk, the former head of Botas’s gas purchase department who’s now an independent consultant. “Upstream oil and gas has a lot of uncertainties and geological, technical risks and challenges, and here it’s not transparent how much money is at risk.”

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