Turkey to Explore for Oil in Qandil

By John Lee.

Turkish energy minister Taner Yildiz said today that agreements with Iraqi administrations open the door for Turkish oil exploration in Iraqi Kurdistan:

"We have agreements with Baghdad and [the government in] northern Iraq ... In the frame of these agreements, we will explore for oil there ...

"There can be an additional discount for Turkish people due to crude oil prices."

According to UPI, the minister did not say which companies would carry out the work.

Reuters reports that the exploration would take place in the remote foothills of the Qandil mountains, an area dominated by the PKK, which is negotiating a peace process with Turkish authorities to end a 30-year insurgency inside Turkey.

(Sources: UPI, Reuters)

(PKK militants in Qandil mountains - image via Shutterstock)