Khaberni - The Turkish drilling ship "Chaghry Bay" arrived,
on Friday to the coast of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, to start the first offshore oil exploration project for Turkey outside its territory, also marking the first oil drilling project on the Somali coasts, named "The Firstborn".
The Somali Minister of Mineral Resources, Zaahir Shir Mohamed, stated that this day is "a historic day for Somalia to welcome the Turkish ship for oil exploration, and it represents a new hope and a positive step towards benefiting from the fuel."
The Somali Minister added in a post on his account on the X platform that "the arrival of the Chaghry Bay ship represents renewed hope and great optimism for the development of natural resources in Somalia."
The Turkish Minister of Energy, Alp Arslan Bayraktar -who attended the launching of the offshore exploration project- stated that this step "marks a new era in Turkish oil exploration," and added that the planned well will reach a depth of 7,500 meters, making it the second deepest offshore drilling operation in the world.
It is expected that the operations of the Turkish drilling ship will last for approximately 10 months, at a distance of 372 kilometers from the Somali mainland.
Promising Capabilities
Minister Bayraktar mentioned that studies have shown the existence of a promising geological structure in the Somali maritime area, and he continued, "We named the well (to be drilled) 'Kurad 1', which means 'Firstborn' in Somali."
Turkey ranks fourth in the world among countries that own a fleet for deep-sea energy exploration, thanks to its ships Fatih, Yavuz, Kanuni, Abdulhamid Khan, Yildirim, and Chaghry Bay.
The Turkish Minister added that support ships will take on the tasks of securing materials and fuel, transporting personnel, and positioning operations for the exploration ship, and that 500 employees will work on these tasks on the ships and on land in six-week shifts.
If the weather and climatic conditions are suitable, adds the Turkish Energy Minister, "we plan to complete the drilling operation in a period ranging between 6 and 9 months."
Military Protection
Units from the Turkish Navy are protecting the "Chaghry Bay" vessel—and the accompanying ships—which departed from Mersin Port in the south of Turkey on the Mediterranean on February 15th, reaching Somali waters after a journey that lasted 53 days, via a long route that included the Atlantic Ocean and the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.
The inauguration ceremonies of the offshore oil exploration project on the Somali coasts were attended by the President of the country, Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, the Prime Minister, Hamza Abdi Barre, and a number of Somali officials, as well as the delegation accompanying the Turkish Minister of Energy.
Turkey and Somalia signed in 2024 an agreement for "exploration and production of hydrocarbons," allowing the Turkish national oil company to explore in three areas, each covering about 5,000 square kilometers.
At the end of the same year, the Turkish ship "Reis Oruc" conducted geological survey operations in these three areas to determine drilling locations, with a total area exceeding 4,000 square kilometers.
