ANKARA — Yemen's Minister of Electricity and Energy Saleh Somae visited his Turkish counterpart Taner Yıldız Thursday in Ankara to discuss cooperation in the energy sector. During a joint press conference Yıldız said the meeting was productive and that the two will try to finish drafting a memorandum of understanding over their respective energy sectors by Saturday.Yıldız highlighted that Turkey supports the establishment of a plan that will meet Yemen's energy needs and added, "Turkey wants to take on this responsibility for Yemen. "Turkish companies can conduct projects in renewable energy, coal and natural gas sources exploration.I explained to Saleh Somae that we can embark on exploratory missions to find sources of natural gas in Yemen that can meet both countries' needs."Somae said energy needs in both countries could be met assuming the two ministries can cooperate. "We have rich areas in terms of petroleum and natural gas. We think Turkey will be leading in such investments.All ministries in Yemen approach Turkey in a friendly and brotherly way. We will present the issues about exploration activities to the parliament," Somae said.Yıldız said that even though Turkey imports natural gas from five countries, leaders in Ankara are open to diversifying their sources.Yıldız explained that they are aiming to increase the number of importer countries to eight or nine by 2023 and continued, "We would prefer that Yemen be one of those countries. If licensed, we will make a decision concerning exploration by the Turkish Petroleum Corporation."During the press conference Yıldız replied to questions about Iraqi petroleum sources currently held in Turkey which will soon be sold on the international market. He stated that storage has been allocated for 2.5 million barrels. "Turkey collects a toll of $1 for each barrel as part of the agreement.When 1.5 million barrels pass a day, we will gain a revenue of $1.5 million. If it performs with full capacity this year, it makes an income of nearly more than $500 million annually. We will consider using this revenue for balancing prices of natural gas. We believe authorities in northern Iraq and Baghdad will evaluate the matter. For now, we do not have an agenda to visit Baghdad, yet we have the opportunity to come together in different meetings. I hope we can discuss these matters before the next month. We are ready for sales. Once Iraq is ready to sell its petroleum, we are prepared for it even if it is as soon as tomorrow. As they own the petroleum, they are the ones to sell it. We can start dispatching even tomorrow," Yıldız concluded.