The Çağrı Bey ultra-deep-sea drillship has left Mogadishu Port and is heading to the Curad-1 well, where Türkiye is set to begin its first deep-sea exploration drilling operation abroad, the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry said on April 13.
The vessel is expected to reach the site, located about 372 kilometers off Mogadishu, around midday before beginning positioning and test work ahead of drilling.
According to the ministry, the vessel had departed Taşucu Port in the southern province of Mersin on Feb. 15 and reached Somalia after a 53-day voyage. It was formally welcomed in Mogadishu on April 10 in a ceremony attended by Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar.
The drilling campaign will be carried out at a point with a water depth of 3,495 meters, with the well planned to extend another 4,005 meters below the seabed for a total depth of around 7,500 meters.
Turkish officials say that would make Curad-1 the world’s second-deepest offshore well. An underwater robot capable of diving to 4,000 meters is also set to be used during seabed operations.
The operation is expected to last between six and nine months, depending on weather and sea conditions.
Support vessels Altan, Korkut and Sancar are accompanying the drillship, while Turkish naval assets including TCG Sancaktar, TCG Gökova and TCG Bafra are providing security for the mission.
Bayraktar described the Somalia mission last week as the opening of a new chapter in Turkish energy exploration and said the offshore campaign could deepen both Türkiye-Somalia ties and regional energy development.
The Curad-1 well was selected after seismic surveys by the Oruç Reis research vessel pointed to what Turkish officials called a promising geological structure.
