Chevron and TPAO set their cap on oil & gas exploration in Black Sea

February 6, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

U.S.-headquartered energy giant Chevron has sealed a deal with Türkiye‘s national oil and gas giant, Türkiye Petrolleri A.O. (TPAO), to embark on oil and natural gas exploration and production in the Black Sea.

Illustration; Source: Türkiye Petrolleri A.O. (TPAO)

The duo’s memorandum of understanding (MoU) will allow them to search for hydrocarbons and produce from potential oil and gas fields. Cem Erdem, TPAO’s General Manager, and Frank Mount, Chevron’s Head of Corporate Business Development, signed the MoU at a ceremony held in Istanbul.

Commenting on the agreement, Alparslan Bayraktar, Türkiye’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, who attended the ceremony, highlighted: “With this cooperation agreement, we will carry out joint exploration and production activities.”

Minister Bayraktar emphasized that TPAO was continuing to work intensively to increase its production in Gabar, the Black Sea, and take advantage of opportunities abroad. Noting that the firm was researching new projects through partnerships in different geographies, Bayraktar reminded that the agreement with Exxonmobil also came into play.

Türkiye’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources shed light on new cooperation agreements, underlining: “We have reached an agreement with two different international companies this month. We will share them with our public. With them, we will have signed a little more specific, that is, clear projects.”

The second phase of the country’s largest asset, Sakarya field, which achieved its first gas in April 2023, is anticipated to meet nearly 30% of the nation’s gas requirements by 2030, based on the information provided by Wood Mackenzie.

Türkiye is set on boosting its energy portfolio, as illustrated by TPAO’s deal with Wison New Energies in 2025 for a floating production unit (FPU) destined for work in the Black Sea.

View on Offshore-energy.

While outlining that the state-owned firm has entered a new growth strategy, Bayraktar said: “In the next few years, our goal is to become a company of one million barrels.”