Turkey’s Energy Strategy: Kurdistan over Iraq, Summer 2014

Turkey seeks to position itself at the crossroads of international hydrocarbon transport infrastructure networks. A lack of domestic hydrocarbon resources, a growing demand for energy, and increasing insecurity across the region has led Turkey to deepen its cooperation with Kurdistan. From the perspective of securing energy imports from a stable and trustworthy supplier, this is the right decision, but not one without risk. Recent territorial advances of the newly formed Islamic State threaten to cut the blossoming energy relationship between Turkey and its partner of choice, Kurdistan, before it has had the chance to reach its full potential.