The Somali government and the Turkish state-owned oil company (TPAO) are continuing to drill the Curad-1 oil well off the coast of Somalia, with officials saying that first exploration results are expected by the end of this year.
Curad-1, located about 372 kilometers northeast of Mogadishu, has become the first well to be officially drilled offshore Somalia. The operation follows a series of 3D seismic surveys conducted in three offshore blocks, which led to the start of drilling.
The well is planned to reach a depth of nearly 7,500 meters and could take up to 288 days to complete, making it one of the deepest offshore oil wells in the world.
Somalia’s Minister of Petroleum and Minerals, Dahir Shire Mohamed, said drilling operations were underway and that previous exploration data had been analyzed, with the focus now on testing the first well offshore Somalia.
If the well is found to contain commercially recoverable oil reserves, it would be the first such discovery in Somalia, which could change the future of the country’s energy sector and economy.
However, no results indicating that commercial oil is available have been announced yet, and it is expected that the well’s evaluation will be completed once drilling is complete.
