A Turkish deep-sea drilling vessel has arrived in Mogadishu ahead of what Somali and Turkish officials describe as Somalia’s first offshore drilling campaign, marking a major new phase in the two countries’ expanding strategic partnership and a potentially significant step in Somalia’s long search for commercial hydrocarbons. The vessel, Çağrı Bey, entered Somali waters on Thursday and docked at Mogadishu port on Friday for an official reception attended by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar. Turkish and Somali officials say the mission is also Turkey’s first deep-sea drilling operation outside its own waters.
The drilling move follows an offshore energy cooperation agreement signed by Turkey and Somalia in March 2024. Under that deal, Turkey’s state-owned energy company secured rights to explore and develop hydrocarbon resources in three offshore blocks. Reuters reported in 2024 that the three areas together cover about 15,000 square kilometres, or roughly 5,000 square kilometres each, and form part of a broader cooperation framework covering exploration, evaluation, development and production. The agreement came shortly after a separate defence pact, underlining how energy and security ties between Ankara and Mogadishu are becoming increasingly intertwined.
Before the arrival of Çağrı Bey, Turkey had already begun technical work in Somali waters. In late 2024, the seismic research vessel Oruç Reis carried out three-dimensional surveys across the three offshore blocks to identify promising drilling targets. Those studies helped narrow the focus for the first exploratory well, which Turkish officials now say will be drilled at the Curad-1 prospect, around 370 kilometres offshore. Bayraktar said the operation would reach a total depth of 7,500 metres, making it one of the deepest offshore drilling projects in the world.
For Somalia, the symbolism is enormous. The country has for years promoted the potential of its offshore basin, but insecurity, political instability and weak infrastructure repeatedly slowed progress. The launch of active drilling therefore represents more than a technical milestone; it is being presented by Mogadishu as the beginning of a possible energy transformation. Somalia’s state news agency SONNA described the arrival of the vessel as the start of the country’s first active deep-sea hydrocarbon exploration, while Turkish officials called it the start of a “new era” in energy cooperation.
The project also highlights Turkey’s growing influence in the Horn of Africa. Ankara is already one of Somalia’s closest security and development partners and opened its largest overseas military base in Mogadishu in 2017. Whether the drilling campaign yields commercially viable oil or gas remains uncertain. But the arrival of Çağrı Bey shows that Somalia’s offshore ambitions have moved from promises and seismic surveys to actual drilling, with potentially far-reaching implications for both countries.
