When Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) signed five hydrocarbon exploration agreements in Islamabad this week, the announcement passed quietly through global headlines. Yet for Pakistan and Türkiye, the deals comprising three offshore and two onshore blocks worth more than $300 million carry far greater significance than their technical description suggests.
Ankara’s decision to enter Pakistan’s offshore sector is not simply a search for oil and gas; the development represents the meeting point of two imperatives: Türkiye’s drive to diversify its energy geography and Pakistan’s attempt to revive its long-neglected offshore ambitions. More importantly, it signals how mid-sized powers are positioning themselves in a region where global alignments and energy corridors are being rapidly reshaped.
Ankara’s calculated expansion
Pakistan’s offshore basins, the Indus and Makran, have long been regarded as promising but underexplored.
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