• Drillship Çağrı Bey to begin drilling Curad-1 about 370 km off Mogadishu

• Operation marks Turkey’s first deepwater drilling mission abroad

• Move follows growing Turkey–Somalia energy cooperation since 2024

Turkey has dispatched its deep-sea drillship Çağrı Bey to Somalia to carry out an offshore oil exploration operation, the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources announced. The mission marks Ankara’s first deepwater drilling campaign outside its own maritime zones.

The vessel left the port of Taşucu in Mersin province on Sunday, February 15. The departure ceremony was attended by Turkey’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and Somali officials responsible for ports and hydrocarbons.

According to the ministry, drilling is scheduled to begin in April at the Curad-1 well, located about 370 kilometers off the coast of Mogadishu. The site was selected based on seismic data previously collected by the research vessel Oruç Reis across three offshore Somali blocks.

The journey to the drilling area is expected to take around 45 days. Due to technical constraints, the vessel will bypass the Suez Canal. About 180 personnel are on board. Units of the Turkish navy are accompanying the operation to provide security and logistical support.

From seismic surveys to deepwater drilling

Since late 2024 and throughout 2025, energy cooperation between Turkey and Somalia has expanded through a series of offshore and onshore oil and gas exploration initiatives.

In October 2025, Somali authorities announced plans for a first offshore drilling campaign after several years without a commercial discovery on land. According to information previously reported by Ecofin Agency, the well was intended to assess the potential of Somalia’s offshore blocks.

Earlier, seismic studies had been scheduled to identify prospective zones. In April 2024, Turkey announced it would conduct hydrocarbon exploration activities in Somalia in 2025, launching an initial phase of offshore geological data collection.

The two countries also deepened cooperation in April 2025 with the signing of an onshore exploration and production agreement between Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) and the Somali Petroleum Authority. The deal provides for exploration activities, including seismic surveys and drilling, across three onshore fields covering about 16,000 square kilometers.

In search of a first commercial discovery

These developments fall under a hydrocarbons cooperation agreement signed in March 2024 between the Turkish and Somali governments, covering oil and gas exploration and production. The framework regulates the participation of Turkish companies in exploration and development activities in Somalia.

For several years, Somalia has been seeking to identify its first commercial oil and gas field. In addition to Turkey, the country has explored energy cooperation with Azerbaijan, mentioned in March 2025. Earlier, in 2020, Somalia signed exploration agreements with U.S. companies Shell and Exxon Mobil.

Abdel-Latif Boureima