Türkiye Says Interested in Offer of Offshore Exploration with Libya

An oil and gas platform off the coast of Libya in the Mediterranean in the area of the Bahr Essalam Gas Field and Bouri Oilfield, Feb. 25, 2022. (REUTERS Photo)
An oil and gas platform off the coast of Libya in the Mediterranean in the area of the Bahr Essalam Gas Field and Bouri Oilfield, Feb. 25, 2022. (REUTERS Photo)
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Türkiye Says Interested in Offer of Offshore Exploration with Libya

An oil and gas platform off the coast of Libya in the Mediterranean in the area of the Bahr Essalam Gas Field and Bouri Oilfield, Feb. 25, 2022. (REUTERS Photo)
An oil and gas platform off the coast of Libya in the Mediterranean in the area of the Bahr Essalam Gas Field and Bouri Oilfield, Feb. 25, 2022. (REUTERS Photo)

Türkiye is interested in an offer from Tripoli to carry out energy exploration offshore Libya, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Wednesday.

"Libya has offered to us to work with our seismic vessels offshore. Frankly, we are warm to this. So we can be in the Libyan offshore to carry out seismic work," he told the state-owned Anadolu news agency.

In 2022, Ankara and Tripoli signed a preliminary accord on energy exploration, which Egypt and Greece oppose, according to Reuters.

Bayraktar added that Türkiyewas also interested in other projects in Libya and needed the "right project and partner".

Türkiye has been at odds with Greece, also a NATO member, over maritime jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean. Disputes over hydrocarbon exploration strained ties between Ankara, Greece and the European Union, though relations improved in recent years as tensions have eased.

Bayraktar also said Türkiye was interested in gas fields off Egypt, with whom Türkiye has recently begun mending ties after a decade of animosity. The two countries were working on a project regarding Cairo's gas procurement that involved Turkish floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) ships, he said.

He also said Ankara aimed to send its Oruc Reis exploration vessel to Somalia by October to carry out seismic work there as part of a hydrocarbon cooperation deal between the countries.



UN Names Former British Diplomat Tom Fletcher to Lead Aid Efforts

Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.
Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.
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UN Names Former British Diplomat Tom Fletcher to Lead Aid Efforts

Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.
Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday appointed former British diplomat Tom Fletcher as the new aid chief for the world body amid worsening humanitarian crises in the Gaza Strip, Sudan and elsewhere, largely driven by conflict.

Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.

Fletcher - who is currently the principal of Hertford College, Oxford - was the British ambassador to Lebanon from 2011-2015 and served as the foreign and development policy adviser to three British prime ministers between 2007-2011, the UN said in a statement.

He "has strong experience of leading and transforming organizations and bringing an understanding of diplomacy at the highest levels," the UN said.

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said he did not know when Fletcher would take up the role.

The announcement comes as UN efforts to tackle humanitarian needs around the world are significantly underfunded.

The UN has appealed for $49 billion in 2024 to help 187.6 million of the people in need across 73 countries. But the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which Fletcher will lead, said on Wednesday that so far it has only received $16.21 billion.