Türkiye’s state energy companies could invest in Canada as Ankara explores opportunities and alternatives in oil, gas and mining, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Wednesday.
“Our state oil and natural gas company, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), and our mining company Eti Maden may come and invest in Canada,” Bayraktar was quoted as saying at a mineral exploration and mining sector convention in the North American country.
“We are looking for these opportunities and alternatives. Cooperation in mining is also an important area we are exploring,” Bayraktar said, according to a statement released by his ministry.
Bayraktar added that Türkiye and Canada could increase bilateral trade and deepen cooperation in nuclear energy, oil and mining, noting that Turkish state energy firms already operate abroad and could also partner with Canada in third countries.
Nuclear talks advance
Türkiye, which already has a nuclear power plant under construction at Akkuyu by Russia’s Rosatom, is seeking to build two additional conventional nuclear power plants. Ankara is holding talks with Canada for one of the planned projects.
During Bayraktar’s visit, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Türkiye Nuclear Energy Corporation (TÜNAŞ) and Canada-based nuclear engineering firm AtkinsRealis to cooperate on nuclear power plant development in Türkiye.
Bayraktar said the agreement would “create a new basis for cooperation between our countries in the field of nuclear energy.”
“One of the most strategic aspects of this agreement is the detailed assessment of the feasibility of implementing Canada’s CANDU reactor technology, a globally proven and advanced technology, in Türkiye,” he emphasized.
He added that they attach great importance to the potential for joint work between the two countries to diversify Türkiye’s energy mix and increase the capacity of nuclear energy.
Bayraktar said Türkiye is working to reduce its dependence on imported resources while meeting rising energy demand.
Türkiye aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2053 and plans to invest roughly $20 billion in energy efficiency over the next seven years to curb primary energy consumption.
“We attach utmost importance to our domestic and renewable energy resources. Türkiye wants to utilize all of its renewable potential,” Bayraktar said.
“We aim to have at least 20 gigawatts of nuclear power generation capacity by 2050,” he noted.
The program is expected to include both large-scale conventional nuclear power plants and small modular reactors (SMRs).
Mining cooperation
Mining is another area in which the two countries could collaborate.
Ankara has been in talks with several countries, including Canada, regarding purification technologies for the vast rare earth elements mine in Beylikova, which will be operated by Eti Maden.
Bayraktar stressed that the global energy transition cannot be achieved without mining and minerals.
“This requires a significant amount of minerals. However, one of the challenges we all face is that developments in mining are not keeping pace with the needs of the energy transition. That is why we must further strengthen ourselves in mining,” he said.
He invited Canadian companies to invest in Türkiye and encouraged Turkish firms to explore opportunities in Canada.
LNG infrastructure
Bayraktar said Türkiye has expanded its liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure and regasification capacity and could help channel Canadian LNG to European markets.
“We are currently in talks with some LNG suppliers on how they can deliver their LNG to European markets. Türkiye has sufficient infrastructure and interconnection capacity with Europe,” said the minister.
“When you bring your vessels to Türkiye, we can regasify the LNG through our infrastructure, inject it into pipelines and deliver the gas to European markets,” he added.
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