Somalia expects positive drilling results with Türkiye by year-end, seeks mining deals

Wednesday May 27, 2026

Somali minister says partnership with Türkiye could support economic growth and energy security

Somalia is anticipating encouraging developments before the end of this year from offshore oil and gas drilling with Türkiye, while also seeking to broaden cooperation with Ankara in mining, Somali Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Dahir Shire Mohamed said.

Speaking to Anadolu, Mohamed said Somalia and Türkiye have entered a new stage in their energy partnership after completing seismic surveys along the Somali coast and moving on to deepwater drilling.

“The cooperation between Somalia and Türkiye on hydrocarbons is now entering the second phase, where we are doing the drilling,” Mohamed said.

According to Mohamed, seismic data collection has been completed, reviewed and interpreted, and drilling at the first offshore well is already in progress.

He said the work underscores the commitment of both governments as well as the close ties between Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“We are very positive that we will have some positive outcome towards the end of this year,” Mohamed said.

Mohamed stopped short of predicting the size of any potential reserves, but said Somalia expects positive signs once drilling and technical assessments are finished.

He said any commercial discovery could become an important driver of Somalia’s development by creating jobs and attracting investment.

Training and knowledge transfer, he added, are also central to the deal between the two countries.

“As part of the memorandum of understanding, local expertise should be trained through on-the-job experience,” Mohamed said. “At the end of the day, Somalis should be able to do the work currently being done by (foreign) experts.”

– “Türkiye came to Somalia when the country was in dire need of assistance”

Mohamed described Türkiye as a “brotherly country” that has supported Somalia since the 2011 humanitarian crisis, saying relations have deepened steadily over the past decade.

“Türkiye came to Somalia when the country was in dire need of assistance,” he said, and added that since then, “Türkiye has never left Somalia.”

He said the relationship has grown from humanitarian and security support into strategic cooperation in energy and mining.

“We are also expecting agreements in mining as Somalia is known to have deposits of critical minerals and other important minerals,” Mohamed said.

– Türkiye’s technical expertise could help map and develop mineral reserves

During a meeting in Istanbul with Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, Mohamed said the two sides discussed how to speed up cooperation under a 2016 mining memorandum of understanding (MoU).

“We want to review that MoU and see where we can start,” he said. “At least (we want) to form a technical committee to review the data we have.”

Mohamed said Somalia has significant mineral resources, including silica sand and uranium, and that Türkiye’s technical expertise could help identify and develop those reserves.

“Our country has plenty under the ground,” he said. “We want to extract and develop them in a peaceful, reasonable, and friendly way.”

He also said closer energy cooperation could help bolster regional energy security.

“When you look at the energy crisis in the world, it is very clear that no country can do energy security on its own,” he said. “Depending on one single source is also challenging, so there should be diversified and different routes that can guarantee the energy security of a country.”

– Deepening energy ties

Türkiye and Somalia have widened their relationship considerably since 2011, extending it across defense, infrastructure, health, education and trade, with energy becoming one of the most strategic pillars of the partnership.

Under a hydrocarbons exploration and production agreement between the two countries, Türkiye’s Oruc Reis conducted seismic surveys off Somalia’s coast that identified promising offshore structures.

After the survey stage, deep-water drilling began in April at the Curad-1 well. The drilling campaign, carried out by Türkiye’s Cagri Bey drilling vessel, is expected to last six to nine months, depending on weather and sea conditions.

The effort signals a new phase in Türkiye’s expanding energy footprint in the Horn of Africa, while both countries are also aiming to extend cooperation into mining and onshore resource development.

By Firdevs Yuksel and Handan Kazanci