Turkey is accelerating a plan to expand its oil company, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), overseas, with Somalia, Iraq, Libya and Oman as key areas where Ankara is looking to increase its oil and gas production.
Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Alparslan Bayraktar, said TPAO aims to increase its domestic and international oil and gas production to around 600,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2028, up from the current production of around 330,000 barrels per day.
Ankara has also set a long-term goal of increasing TPAO’s production to one million barrels of oil equivalent per day.
A significant portion of the expected growth will come from the Sakarya Gas Field in the Black Sea, but TPAO is also significantly expanding its international presence, converting previously signed partnership agreements into investment shares, production sharing contracts and direct drilling operations.
Somalia has become a key focus of TPAO’s new overseas strategy. The company began offshore exploration in Somalia after the Oruç Reis seismic survey vessel conducted three offshore explorations over a period of 234 days, collecting 3D seismic data covering approximately 4,464 square kilometers.
This data is now the basis for Turkey’s next step in its exploration of oil in Somalia. The Çağrı Bey drilling vessel is currently operating the Curad-1 well, located offshore Somalia. Bayraktar said the drilling is Turkey’s first deep-sea oil drilling operation outside its borders.
The Curad-1 well is located about 372 kilometers off the coast of Mogadishu, where drilling is underway in water depths of about 3,500 meters. The drilling plan is for the well to reach a depth of about 7,500 meters above sea level.
The results of the Curad-1 drilling could significantly determine the future of TPAO’s operations in Somalia. If the well yields positive results, Somalia could become one of TPAO’s most important oil and gas production areas outside Turkey.
