Turkey has started talks with Azerbaijan in the sphere of exploration of oil and gas, Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) told Trend May 21.

The sides have held the first round of the negotiations on this issue, said TPAO.

“It is too early to talk about where the work on oil and gas exploration will be carried out, since the negotiations haven’t been completed yet,” said the corporation.

Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said May 20 that Ankara intends to cooperate with Azerbaijan in the sphere of oil and gas exploration.

He said that Turkey is expected to cooperate with Iran in oil and gas exploration as well.

“Turkey is currently engaged in the oil and gas exploration in 13 provinces in the north of Iraq,” he said. “Turkish Energy Company carries out exploration work in seven provinces of Iraq.”

Yildiz added that Turkish Energy Company carries out this work in six provinces of Iraq jointly with Exxon Mobil.

Moreover, TPAO has 19-percent share in Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz project.

Turkey actively carries out search for oil fields to reduce dependence on oil and gas supply from abroad. Oil reserves were discovered in Magrip field in the Kurtalan district of Turkish Siirt province in January 2013.