Abdülhamid Han drillship marks four years with 20 wells

ANKARA

Türkiye’s seventh-generation deep-sea drillship Abdülhamid Han has carried out drilling operations at 20 wells in the Mediterranean and Black seas since entering service on Aug. 9, 2022, the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry has said.

The vessel is currently working at the Türkali-44 well in the Black Sea. It has drilled three wells in the Mediterranean and 17 in the Black Sea during its four years of operations.

Abdülhamid Han began its first assignment at the Yörükler-1 well after departing Taşucu Port in the southern province of Mersin.

It later worked at the Taşucu-1 and Akseki-1 wells before moving to the Black Sea in 2024. Its assignments there this year have included the Amasra-4 well.

Drilling by the vessel at Göktepe-3 yielded a natural gas discovery of 75 billion cubic meters, announced on May 17, 2025.

The find raised Türkiye’s declared Black Sea gas reserves to 785 billion cubic meters, according to the ministry.

The ship is 238 meters long and 42 meters wide and has a maximum drilling capacity of 12,120 meters.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Türkiye now operates six deep-sea drillships and two seismic research vessels, describing the fleet as the world’s fourth largest.

“We will continue to explore, discover and produce for the prosperity of our people,” Bayraktar said.