Türkiye sends drilling vessel to Somalia for historic offshore energy mission
MERSIN, Turkey — Türkiye’s new deepwater drilling vessel, the Cagri Bey, departed Mersin Port on Sunday bound for the Somali coast to begin its first international offshore energy assignment, marking a significant step in Ankara’s drive for energy independence.
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Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced the deployment as part of a broader strategy to expand oil and natural gas exploration. Drilling operations in Somali waters are expected to start between April and May 2026, following transit, mobilization and site preparations.
The mission will be protected by the Turkish Naval Forces Command and builds on a 3D seismic survey completed last year by the research vessel Oruc Reis, which covered 4,465 square kilometers. Officials say the data from that campaign helped prioritize the initial drilling targets now slated for the Cagri Bey.
Under a 2024 production-sharing agreement, Türkiye will receive up to 90% of initial revenue to recover exploration and operational costs, a cost-recovery framework designed to de-risk frontier drilling while establishing a path to longer-term profit sharing as production scales. Such arrangements are common in early-stage offshore plays where infrastructure is limited and subsurface uncertainty remains high.
Somalia’s offshore blocks could hold between 30 billion and 40 billion barrels of oil, according to official estimates — a scale that, if confirmed by drilling, could transform the Horn of Africa nation’s economy and position it as a major supplier in the Indian Ocean basin. Those figures remain contingent on commercial discoveries, reservoir quality and development feasibility.
The Cagri Bey’s deployment extends Türkiye’s state-led exploration model beyond the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea, where Ankara has invested heavily in national seismic and drilling capacity over the past decade. By sending its newest rig abroad, Türkiye is signaling an intent to leverage its fleet and technical expertise in frontier basins while securing future energy supplies.
Key details of the mission:
- Vessel: Cagri Bey, Türkiye’s newest deepwater drilling ship
- Departure: Sunday from Mersin Port
- Security: Turkish Naval Forces Command assigned to protect the operation
- Precursor survey: Oruc Reis 3D seismic campaign (4,465 sq km) completed last year
- Commercial terms: 2024 production-sharing agreement with up to 90% initial revenue for Türkiye to recover costs
- Timeline: Drilling start targeted for April–May 2026
- Resource potential: 30–40 billion barrels of oil estimated in offshore Somali blocks
The move underscores how energy security and strategic industry policy are shaping Türkiye’s overseas economic footprint. If successful, the operation could catalyze new investment in Somali offshore services and infrastructure, from port logistics and supply chains to workforce development tied to exploration and field appraisal.
Türkiye has not released additional operational details, including the precise drilling locations, water depths or the number of planned wells. Further updates are expected as the Cagri Bey completes transit, conducts site surveys and prepares for spud.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
