Turkey Set for Deal to Explore Energy in Libyan Waters

Libya’s eastern parliament is poised to let Turkey explore for energy in the North African nation’s waters, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be a dramatic about-face that’s the latest sign of warming ties between Ankara and the region.

The House of Representatives in Benghazi is set to vote in the coming weeks on the 2019 pact that set out the terms of an exploration agreement, said people in Turkey and Libya familiar with the deliberations. Most obstacles to the accord have been removed, they said, declining to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The war-torn OPEC member is split between rival administrations in Benghazi and the western capital, Tripoli. The latter has strong relations with Turkey and already supports the deal, but staunch opposition from the east – where military commander Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army holds sway – has hitherto prevented its enactment.

If approved, the agreement could kickstart oil and gas exploration by Turkish ships in a swathe of territory between Crete and Turkey, reinforcing Ankara’s claims in the eastern Mediterranean. That risks inflaming a dispute with Greece and Cyprus, which accuse Turkey of a bid for dominance in contested waters. 

Eastern Libya’s change of tack speaks to a new detente between Turkey and Haftar, who fought on opposing sides of a months-long battle for the Libyan capital in 2019 and 2020. Turkey militarily backed a previous Islamist-leaning government in Tripoli that Haftar – who counted the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia among his allies – unsuccessfully sought to overthrow.

A United Nations-supported peace drive installed a new premier, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, but has failed to mend the split. The Tripoli-based government and the east have periodic spats over revenue from Africa’s largest oil reserves and control of vital state institutions, although there’s been no major fighting between the two sides in years.

Turkey has in recent years been quietly working on building relations with Haftar. The initiative follows Ankara’s landmark rapprochement with Egypt after a roughly eight-year fallout stemming from Turkey’s stance on political Islam. The two countries worked together in Libya last year to resolve a power struggle over the central bank that risked spilling over into civil war.

Naval Visit

In a further sign of improving ties, a Turkish navy corvette, the TCG Kinaliada, is making a first visit to Benghazi’s port this week, while Turkey is considering sending military trainers and advisers, according to Turkish officials familiar with the moves. Haftar’s son and heir apparent, Saddam, met Turkey’s defense minister and army chief in Ankara in April.

While Mediterranean exploration is an important motivation, Turkey is also seeking to salvage business contracts worth billions of dollars that were thrown into limbo by the cycle of conflict that’s embroiled Libya since dictator Muammar Al Qaddafi was toppled in 2011.

Turkey has recently started direct flights to Benghazi, and some leading Turkish contractors are engaged in projects to rebuild the city and start production of industrial materials.

Among Eastern Libyan authorities, there’s a consensus that the agreement serves their interests and will bring in investment, according to a Libyan official familiar with the talks.

The dispute over the maritime territory has intensified in recent months after Greece in May announced an exploration tender for energy blocks south of Crete that extend into waters claimed by Libya.

The European Union has said the mooted Libya-Turkey deal infringes upon the sovereign rights of third states and doesn’t comply with the UN Law of the Sea.