Türkiye sends drillship to Somalia in first overseas deep-sea energy mission

Türkiye on February 15 dispatched its deep-sea drillship Çağrı Bey to Somalia for its first mission abroad, marking a significant step in Ankara’s efforts to expand its offshore energy exploration beyond its territorial waters.

Speaking at a ceremony at Taşucu Port in the southern province of Mersin, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar described the deployment as a milestone in the country’s offshore energy drive. The vessel is expected to arrive in Mogadishu in about 45 days and begin drilling operations in April at the Curad-1 well, Caliber.Az reports per Turkish media. 

Türkiye and Somalia signed agreements in 2024 covering onshore and offshore oil and gas exploration, laying the groundwork for joint energy development. The seismic research vessel Oruc Reis previously completed surveys in three offshore blocks off Somalia’s coast.

With the addition of Çağrı Bey and Yıldırım, the number of drillships in Türkiye’s fleet has risen to six, Bayraktar said. Alongside the seismic vessels Oruc Reis and Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa, Türkiye now operates what he described as the world’s fourth-largest offshore exploration fleet.

Since the beginning of the year, Türkiye has signed strategic agreements with US-based ExxonMobil and Chevron, as well as UK-based BP, in oil and gas exploration, Bayraktar said. Another overseas offshore partnership agreement with an international company is planned for next week, he added.

Bayraktar said Türkiye aims for its national oil company to reach production of around 500,000 barrels of oil and gas per day by 2028, with a longer-term goal of increasing capacity to 1 million barrels per day.

“I firmly believe that Çağrı Bey, which we are assigning to search for oil outside our territorial waters for the first time, will elevate Türkiye-Somalia relations to a higher level,” Bayraktar said, wishing the crew a safe and successful mission.

By Sabina Mammadli