Türkiye to accelerate hydrocarbon exploration and drilling in April

ISTANBUL

Türkiye is set to accelerate hydrocarbon exploration and drilling activities in April, deploying its growing energy fleet to both the Black Sea and Somalia.

The Abdülhamid Han drilling vessel, which began operations on March 26, continues its work at the Kandıra-2 well off the coast of Kocaeli, marking the country’s first discovery drilling of the year. In April, the Fatih drilling ship will begin operations at the Eflani-1 well, while the Çağrı Bey vessel is scheduled to start drilling at the Curad-1 well in Somalia by the end of the month.

Over the past decade, Türkiye has built a powerful energy fleet to reduce reliance on foreign resources, adding advanced drilling ships such as Fatih, Yavuz, Kanuni and Abdülhamid Han, alongside seismic research vessels Barbaros and Oruç Reis.

Following the natural gas discovery in the Sakarya Gas Field, drilling activities in the Black Sea have intensified, and two new vessels were added to the fleet this year.

The seventh-generation ultra-deepwater drilling ship Yıldırım completed preparations in Mersin before passing through the Bosphorus on Jan. 26 to begin its mission in the Black Sea. Its twin, Çağrı Bey, departed for Somalia in February and is expected to drill in areas previously surveyed by Oruç Reis.

With the addition of Yıldırım and Çağrı Bey, Türkiye now operates six drilling vessels, supported by seismic ships, making its fleet the fourth largest in the world.