Key Takeaways
- • Turkey's military pension fund Oyak began lifting Libyan crude in January 2026 and has built volumes to roughly 6 million barrels a month, about 16% of Libya's exports based on OPEC figures, according to people with knowledge of the trades.
- • Oyak buys through the Turkish state operator TPIC, which obtains cargoes from Libya's National Oil Corp; Nakkas Holding, an Istanbul-based private trading house, reportedly provides trading expertise.
- • Oyak manages $34 billion in assets and in February set a target to nearly double them to $60 billion by 2030, while reportedly pursuing a tie-up with Saudi Aramco.
- • Turkey's broader Libya push, including a recently ratified maritime-boundary deal, is expanding commercial links across Turkish state and private energy players.
Summary
Turkey's military pension fund Oyak has become a major buyer of Libyan crude, according to people with knowledge of the trades who requested anonymity. The fund started lifting cargoes in January and has built volumes to around 6 million barrels a month, equal to about 16% of Libya's exports using OPEC figures. Oyak declined to comment.
The purchases are routed through Turkish Petroleum International Company (TPIC), the state operator, which in turn obtains cargoes from Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC), the people said. TPIC disclosed in its 2015 annual report that it signed a crude purchase and sale deal with NOC in 2013, though shipments were later disrupted by political turmoil in Libya. TPIC and NOC did not respond to inquiries, and the Turkish Energy Ministry, which oversees TPIC, said it had no comment.
Istanbul-based Nakkas Holding has supported Oyak on the Libyan cargoes with trading expertise, according to the same people. Nakkas owns the Global Terminal Services storage facility on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, hauls fuel by truck along the Turkey-northern Iraq route, and bought retail fuel company Alpet last year. Dutch filings indicate executives from Nakkas and Oyak-linked groups sit on the board of ON Investment BV, which this year completed the purchase of 42.8% of Tekfen Holding AS. Nakkas chairman Ramazan Ozturk attended a January meeting in Tripoli between Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, where Bayraktar said talks covered "hydrocarbon exploration, production and trade."
The trading push may also build capabilities ahead of a reported planned tie-up with Saudi Aramco. In September, Oyak CEO Murat Yalcintas said the fund was in talks with "one of the biggest companies in the world" to expand its trading, extraction and refining operations. The fund manages $34 billion across assets including TotalEnergies-branded fuel stations in Turkey, LPG distributor Milangaz, and steel, auto and brokerage businesses, and in February set a target of $60 billion by 2030.
Turkey's footprint in Libya is broader. Ankara has kept military trainers in the country since 2020 to back the internationally recognized Tripoli government while cultivating links with rival eastern authorities. Ratification last month of a maritime-boundary deal bolsters Turkey's claims in contested Mediterranean waters, where it intends to step up oil and gas exploration. Turkiye Petrolleri AO won two Libyan exploration blocks in February, and Bayraktar said TPAO may partner with Eni SpA in Libya "soon." Turkish-owned trader BGN says it is a major participant in Libya's oil-for-fuel swap program.
The purchases are routed through Turkish Petroleum International Company (TPIC), the state operator, which in turn obtains cargoes from Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC), the people said. TPIC disclosed in its 2015 annual report that it signed a crude purchase and sale deal with NOC in 2013, though shipments were later disrupted by political turmoil in Libya. TPIC and NOC did not respond to inquiries, and the Turkish Energy Ministry, which oversees TPIC, said it had no comment.
Istanbul-based Nakkas Holding has supported Oyak on the Libyan cargoes with trading expertise, according to the same people. Nakkas owns the Global Terminal Services storage facility on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, hauls fuel by truck along the Turkey-northern Iraq route, and bought retail fuel company Alpet last year. Dutch filings indicate executives from Nakkas and Oyak-linked groups sit on the board of ON Investment BV, which this year completed the purchase of 42.8% of Tekfen Holding AS. Nakkas chairman Ramazan Ozturk attended a January meeting in Tripoli between Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, where Bayraktar said talks covered "hydrocarbon exploration, production and trade."
The trading push may also build capabilities ahead of a reported planned tie-up with Saudi Aramco. In September, Oyak CEO Murat Yalcintas said the fund was in talks with "one of the biggest companies in the world" to expand its trading, extraction and refining operations. The fund manages $34 billion across assets including TotalEnergies-branded fuel stations in Turkey, LPG distributor Milangaz, and steel, auto and brokerage businesses, and in February set a target of $60 billion by 2030.
Turkey's footprint in Libya is broader. Ankara has kept military trainers in the country since 2020 to back the internationally recognized Tripoli government while cultivating links with rival eastern authorities. Ratification last month of a maritime-boundary deal bolsters Turkey's claims in contested Mediterranean waters, where it intends to step up oil and gas exploration. Turkiye Petrolleri AO won two Libyan exploration blocks in February, and Bayraktar said TPAO may partner with Eni SpA in Libya "soon." Turkish-owned trader BGN says it is a major participant in Libya's oil-for-fuel swap program.
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