Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar reported that the Çağrı Bey deep sea drilling ship reached Somalia. Minister Bayraktar, in his post on his NSosyal account, said, “We are opening a brand new page in the energy history of both Turkey and Somalia. We say ‘Bismillah’ for our first overseas deep-sea drilling that crosses our borders.” he said. Çağrı Bey set off from Mersin Taşucu Port on February 15 to carry out Turkey’s first deep-sea exploration drilling abroad in Somalia.
The ship passed through the Mediterranean and sailed into the Atlantic Ocean via the Strait of Gibraltar. Then, it followed the West African coast, passed the Cape of Good Hope and reached Somalia at the end of the planned 53-day cruise. Çağrı Bey will work in the CURAD-1 well, which takes its name from “Curad”, meaning the first baby born in the family in Somalia, and is located 372 kilometers off Mogadishu. The ship will drill at a point with a water depth of 3 thousand 495 meters, after digging 4 thousand 5 meters from the seabed, going down to a total of 7 thousand 500 meters.
CURAD-1 well is aimed to be the second deepest offshore well in the world with a depth of 7 thousand 500 meters. Drilling work is expected to last 288 days. Çağrı Bey, whose construction was completed in South Korea in 2024 and joined Turkey’s energy fleet, can drill up to 12 thousand meters in the deep sea. The ship, called the “7th generation ultra-deepwater drilling ship”, has a length of 228 meters, a height of 114 meters and a width of 42 meters.
The ship, which has a helipad, offers living space for 200 personnel. Drilling work is planned to last 288 days in total. During Çağrı Bey’s mission, Altan, Korkut and Sancar support ships from the energy fleet will also be with him. On the other hand, navy elements consisting of TCG Sancaktar, TCG Gökova and TCG Bafra will also support Çağrı Bey so that he can operate safely. In addition, a total of 500 field personnel will work on a rotating basis during the drilling operations, including 180 personnel on Çağrı Bey, 60 personnel on support ships and 10 personnel on land services.
Çağrı Bey will be welcomed with a ceremony at Mogadishu Port. A welcoming ceremony will be held for Çağrı Bey at Mogadishu Port tomorrow. In addition to Minister Bayraktar, Somali President Hasan Şeyh Mahmud, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Dahir Shire Mohamed and Minister of Ports and Maritime Transport Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur will attend the ceremony. After the welcome ceremony, Çağrı Bey will move towards the CURAD-1 well where he will work.
It is expected to take 1-2 days to reach the well location, which is 372 kilometers away from Mogadishu. After the ship reaches the well location, it will perform the positioning process. After the positioning is completed, various tests related to the drilling process will be carried out. The studies in Somalia were shaped by the research carried out in the region by the Oruç Reis Seismic Research Ship for 234 days.
Oruç Reis, who was sent off to Somalia via the Bosphorus by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on October 5, 2024, collected data in a total area of 4 thousand 464 square kilometers in 3 separate maritime blocks in Somalia. After examining and interpreting the data, it was decided to conduct drilling at a determined location. Source: AA
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