Turkey's state firms TPAO and Botas seek opportunities abroad

With an energy-hungry domestic market to feed, TPAO and Botas see opportunities abroad, especially in Iraq

Turkey's upstream-focused NOC, Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) dominates the Turkish hydrocarbons landscape, producing three-quarters of the country's total crude output of about 310,000 barrels a day (b/d) in 2012. But the state-owned player, which still enjoys preferential rights in the semi-liberalised domestic market, has planted its footprint further afield in recent years, allying itself with supermajors Shell and ExxonMobil and extending its reach into Libya, Azerbaijan, Colombia and Kazakhstan and - crucially - Iraq. This overseas reach mirrors the shifts in the Turkish state's relationships with its neighbours, and the growing strength of Turkey's economy during 10 years of AKP