Turkey and US to cooperate in Iraqi gas exploration

Though they have not agreed on an Iran policy, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz and US envoy Richard Morningstar confirmed they would cooperate in gas exploration and transition projects of Iraq. Morningstar highlighted that the rich Iraqi reserves have the potential to supply the Nabucco pipeline along with Caspian gas.
Iraq has 111 tcf of natural gas reserves and experts claim much more is yet be discovered. Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Maliki at a signing ceremony of the intergovernmental agreement on Nabucco said they could supply 15 bn cm of natural gas.

Turkey, already a major transport country, aims to position itself as a vital energy and trade corridor with its eastern neighbours, including Iraq, Iran, Syria and the South Caucasus.
"Turkey continues its efforts to discover its own resources, but no doubt, it will be a real transit country. Imagine, up to eight pipelines linking east to west and north to south will cross Turkey," Yildiz told.

Turkey, Iraq and the United States facilitate cooperation through a trilateral natural gas working group. A meeting between US and Turkish officials will take place in Ankara. They will discuss in detail how to establish a US-Turkish consortium to join gas exploration tenders in Iraq, Yildiz said.
Turkish Petroleum International Company, or TPYO, is planning to take part in six consortiums and at least one or two will include US companies, Yildiz said.