OREANDA-NEWS. Turkey is in talks with northern Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) about joint exploration on 13 oil and gas blocks in the semi-autonomous region, Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said.

The Turkish Energy Company (TEC), a state-backed vehicle established to operate in Iraqi Kurdistan, is aiming to partner with a third party in six of the blocks, Yildiz said, adding talks for the potential contracts have not been finalised.