The first "historic" offshore oil drilling is coming to Somalia.

 

The Turkish drilling ship is expected to arrive on Friday (Image: Getty Images)

A Turkish government-owned drilling ship is expected to arrive off Somalia's coast on Friday, according to the country's declaration that it is prepared to begin its first offshore oil drilling operations. The move follows the successful completion of seismic surveys last year by a Turkish research vessel.

 Dahir Shire, Somalia's Petroleum Minister, wrote on X that the country's move toward its first offshore drilling would be a "historic milestone in our offshore energy journey... A new chapter begins."

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 The foreign ministry said if the drilling were to be successful, it would unlock offshore oil reserves and support the country's economic recovery as a regional energy player.

 The drilling ship "Ar Bey," owned by the Turkish Petroleum Corporation, is going on its first international mission and will be entering Somalia's territorial waters in the Arabian Sea. It will do deep water drilling at locations that have been identified by recent surveys that mapped the country's potential for hydrocarbons. "This signals Somalia's readiness to move into exploratory drilling, beginning with our most promising offshore prospects," Shire said.

 He went on to say that the nation would make certain that the benefits of oil drilling result in increased national prosperity and people's well-being.

Through a production-sharing agreement in 2024, the cooperation between Turkey and Somalia was made official. Ali Omar, the foreign minister of Somalia, said on Monday that the oil drilling campaign would make Turkey a "trusted long-term partner" in development. Speaking on Saturday ahead of his planned travel to Somalia, Turkey's Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said any discovery of oil or gas reserves would bring significant economic benefits to Somalia, East Africa and Turkey.

 Ankara has been deepening its ties with Somalia and has invested in the country for more than a decade.  It has also increased its military presence there in recent years, operating a significant 2017 base. The country is thought to have billions of barrels of oil reserves, but decades of conflict and political instability have hampered exploration.

Source: BBC