Somali president, Turkish energy minister hold talks in Mogadishu

Saturday April 11, 2026

Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia and Türkiye took a major step Friday toward the country’s first offshore deep-water oil drilling project, as President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met with Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar in Mogadishu.

The talks centered on deepening the two countries’ strategic ties, with energy, natural resources and the blue economy high on the agenda.

President Mohamud said the partnership had entered what he called a historic phase, underscoring the arrival of Türkiye’s deep-sea drillship Çağrı Bey off the Somali coast.

“The docking of the Çağrı Bey has opened a new chapter in the Somali government’s efforts to enhance economic growth, create jobs and responsibly utilize our marine and land-based natural resources,” the president said.

Bayraktar described the venture as “a new era in Turkish petroleum exploration,” saying the planned Curad-1 well would be drilled to a depth of 7,500 meters, placing it among the deepest offshore operations in the world.

“We are in Somalia for a historic mission that will open a new chapter in Turkish energy history,” Bayraktar said after the talks. “Following the seismic surveys that began with Oruç Reis, we comprehensively discussed the operational process of the first deep-sea drilling, which will commence at the Curad-1 well with Çağrı Bey.”

He added that the partnership, built on mutual trust and a shared vision for development, would strengthen ties between Ankara and Mogadishu in the years ahead.

The Çağrı Bey reached waters off Mogadishu on Friday to begin Somalia’s first offshore deep-water drilling campaign under a bilateral energy agreement signed in 2024. President Mohamud, Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre and other senior officials attended a ceremony at Mogadishu port to welcome the vessel.

Officials say the drilling phase is expected to last about 10 months. A successful find, they argue, could sharply improve Somalia’s economic outlook, though analysts caution that clear regulation and transparent management will be crucial if any oil windfall is to deliver lasting development benefits.