The Turkish government has sent its deep-sea drilling vessel Cagri Bey to the Somali coast today, in what the Turkish energy minister said was the country’s first offshore exploration mission.
He described the move as a historic one that reflects Turkey’s efforts in oil and gas exploration. Alparslan Bayraktar said the vessel will begin drilling the Curaçao-1 well off the coast of Somalia in April.
“For the first time, our deep-sea drilling vessel is setting off on an operation outside our maritime borders,” Bayraktar said at an event in the southern port of Mersin.
The Federal Minister of Petroleum, Dahir Shire Mohamed, who was present at the ship’s farewell ceremony, said that Somalia’s time has come to tap its own resources.
“This vessel, which is setting off today for Somali waters, is a hope, a future, a good omen. “Today we are at the launch of the oil drilling vessel that will drill for the well that President Hassan Sheikh named Curad1,” said the Somali energy minister.
The Cagri Bey, which recently joined Turkey’s drilling fleet, is expected to reach Somalia in about 45 days, accompanied by three Turkish naval vessels.
Turkey aims to reach an output of 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2028, Bayraktar said, adding that Ankara hopes to double that figure through new exploration and production-sharing agreements abroad.
