Turkey's national oil company, Turkish Petroleum Corporation, or TPAO, has signed a non-disclosure agreement with Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) for oil exploration in southeastern Turkey, the Ihlas News Agency, or IHA, reported Tuesday, citing TPAO General Manager Mehmet Uysal.
"TPAO and Exxon has signed a non-disclosure agreement for oil exploration in the southeastern region of Turkey," Uysal said at a press conference on TPAO's operations.
"We believe that (the) Black Sea has 10 billion barrels of crude oil, which may meet the oil demands of Turkey for 40 years, and we think that (the) Black Sea also has 1.5 trillion cubic metres of natural gas reserves," Uysal said.
TPAO and Exxon signed a partnership deal Nov. 19 for oil exploration in the Black Sea.
Turkey is a net importer of oil, and pushed by recent high oil prices, it is accelerating its efforts to find oil in its territory and become energy independent.