ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Turkiye are poised to elevate their strategic partnership in a big way as Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) is set to sign on Tuesday (today) five major petroleum concession agreements (PCAs)—three for offshore blocks and two for onshore areas—marking one of the most significant energy-sector engagements between the two countries in recent years.
Turkiye’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, leading a high-powered delegation, will arrive in Islamabad on the invitation of Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz and attend the signing ceremony at the Prime Minister’s Office.
Officials said the agreements reflect a deepening of an already robust geopolitical and economic alliance forged through sustained efforts by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Army chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.
TPAO —renowned for its extensive footprint and technological expertise in oil and gas exploration across Iraq, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Libya, Somalia and Turkmenistan—is now preparing for a substantial entry into Pakistan’s upstream sector through its subsidiary, Turkish Petroleum Overseas Company (TPOC).
According to officials, TPOC already holds operatorship of the Indus Block-C, an offshore block in which it has a 25 per cent stake. Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) retains 35 per cent, while Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and Mari Energies hold 20 per cent each.
TPOC will additionally acquire stakes in two more offshore blocks—Deep-C and Deep-F—and in two onshore blocks, Ziarat North (Balochistan) and Sakpur (Sindh), through joint ventures with OGDCL, Government Holdings (Private) Limited (GHPL), and a private firm, Prime.
In a parallel development, Turkiye’s largest mining company has expressed strong interest in large-scale investments in Pakistan’s mineral sector. Its CEO, currently in Islamabad, has held extensive meetings with the Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP), Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), and Pakistan Mineral Development Company (PMDC) to assess opportunities in minerals, rare earths, and associated technology services.
The company has also offered technical collaboration and training programmes to strengthen Pakistan’s mining sector workforce.
Officials noted that interest from Turkish investors intensified following the Pakistan Mineral Investment Forum (PMIF) 2025, jointly hosted by OGDCL and the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) in April, which was also attended by Minister Bayraktar. Turkish experts believe Pakistan holds promising oil, gas, and rare-earth deposits that merit sizeable investment.
On Monday, Turkish Ambassador Irfan Neziroglu met with Federal Petroleum Minister Pervaiz Malik to review arrangements for the high-level engagements and the signing ceremony. Senior officials including Petroleum Secretary Momin Agha and OGDCL Managing Director Ahmed Hayat Lak were also present.
A background note shared during the meeting underscored Pakistan’s drive to promote joint ventures in petroleum and mineral development, particularly through state-owned exploration companies such as OGDCL, PPL, and Mari Energies, all of which have forged new partnerships with TPAO in recent months.
Ambassador Neziroglu affirmed that a “leading Turkish mineral-sector company” will join the visiting delegation—an indication, he said, of Turkiye’s growing confidence in the potential of Pakistan’s natural resources sector.
