Cagri Bey vessel to launch new phase of Somalia oil and gas exploration

Saturday April 11, 2026

Türkiye is preparing to launch its first deep-sea drilling project abroad, a milestone that Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Friday in Mogadishu will usher in a new era for the country’s energy ambitions. The Curad-1 well, located offshore Somalia, is the centerpiece of the effort.

Situated about 372 kilometers from Mogadishu, the well will probe a geological formation flagged as promising after months of seismic work carried out by Türkiye’s Oruc Reis vessel.

Drilling will be undertaken by the Cagri Bey vessel at a location with roughly 3,500 meters of water depth, followed by an additional 4,000 meters beneath the seabed, bringing the total depth to around 7,500 meters. At that scale, Curad-1 would be the second deepest offshore well in the world.

“A new chapter has opened in Turkish energy history and petroleum exploration,” Bayraktar said, stressing that the Somalia mission marks Türkiye’s first deep-sea drilling operation beyond its own borders.

The operation is expected to take between six and nine months, with the timeline dependent on weather, especially monsoon conditions in the region.

The campaign will be backed by auxiliary ships responsible for logistics, positioning and transporting personnel, while Turkish naval units will handle offshore security.

The initiative extends Türkiye’s decade-long drive to strengthen exploration capacity with its own fleet, which has grown into one of the largest deep-sea drilling fleets in the world.

Drilling campaign opens new chapter in Türkiye-Somalia ties

Working under that strategy, Türkiye made a natural gas discovery in the Black Sea and is now meeting the needs of about 4 million households through domestic production.

The Somalia venture also underscores Ankara’s widening role in Africa, where its presence has expanded sharply since the early 2000s through a mix of energy, trade and security partnerships.

Bayraktar said the offshore effort could mark a turning point for both Türkiye-Somalia relations and energy development in the region, adding that any discovery from the project would be announced in the coming months.