Mogadishu (Somalia Today) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday hailed the launch of Türkiye’s first overseas deep-sea drilling operation off Somalia, as criticism grew over the terms of the two countries’ hydrocarbons deal.
The Turkish drillship Çağrı Bey arrived off the coast of Somalia on April 10 to begin a 288-day campaign, marking a new phase in an energy partnership formalised in early 2024.
“We are starting our first drilling operation off the coast of Somalia with Çağrı Bey,” Erdoğan said.
“We are now carrying out, with our own ships, our own engineers and our own workforce, tasks for which we once had to rely on others,” he said.
Erdoğan also sought to answer criticism of the agreement, saying Ankara aimed “not to exploit, but to prosper together” with Somalia and expressing hope that the mission would bring “good news” to the Somali people.
Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar described the deployment of the Çağrı Bey as a milestone for Türkiye’s energy sector.
Historic mission
The campaign marks Somalia’s most significant offshore drilling effort in decades.
International oil companies, including Shell and ExxonMobil, held exploration concessions in Somalia in the 1980s, but those operations were halted after the collapse of President Siad Barre’s government in 1991 and the outbreak of civil war.
The Çağrı Bey is targeting a site known as Curad-1, located about 372 kilometres (231 miles) off Mogadishu. Turkish officials say the well will be drilled in waters around 3,500 metres (11,480 feet) deep, then extend several thousand metres below the seabed.
Officials in Mogadishu have presented the project as a major economic opportunity, saying commercially viable discoveries could help raise state revenues and attract foreign investment.
The drilling operation also highlights Türkiye’s growing role in Somalia.
Since Erdoğan’s visit to Mogadishu in 2011, Ankara has expanded its presence in the country through infrastructure, education, security and development projects.
Turkish firms manage Mogadishu’s port and airport, while the Turkish military runs Camp TURKSOM, its largest overseas base, in the Somali capital.
Deal under scrutiny
The energy push follows a 10-year defence and economic cooperation agreement signed in February 2024 under which Ankara agreed to help Somalia protect its coastline and rebuild naval capacity.
The arrival of the drillship has also renewed criticism from Somali opposition figures, lawmakers and analysts who say the hydrocarbons agreement gives Türkiye too much control over the country’s future oil and gas resources.
Much of the criticism has focused on the production-sharing structure and cost recovery terms.
In deep-water and high-risk exploration projects, operators often take a large early share of output to recover drilling and development costs.
But Somali critics say the terms granted to Türkiye are too generous and could delay meaningful financial returns for Mogadishu.
Opponents have also raised concerns over transparency, saying the 2024 agreement did not receive enough parliamentary debate or public scrutiny.
They argue that Somalia risks receiving limited early income while taking on broader political and strategic costs associated with a foreign partner’s growing role in its waters.
Government defence
Somali officials have rejected claims that the deal amounts to a giveaway.
They say Somalia lacks the capital, infrastructure, and technical capacity to carry out ultra-deep offshore drilling on its own and must work with an experienced foreign partner to enter a costly, high-risk sector.
Officials also say Somalia’s share would rise through royalties and profit-sharing mechanisms once exploration and drilling costs are recovered.
They argue that few international partners were willing to commit a high-value drillship to waters still associated with insecurity and the legacy of piracy.
For Ankara, the Çağrı Bey mission shows that Türkiye can carry out complex offshore operations beyond its own waters.
For Mogadishu, it is the clearest sign yet that years of diplomacy and seismic surveys are now moving into the drilling phase.
But for critics, the campaign remains an early test of whether Somalia can develop its resources on terms that are transparent, balanced and politically sustainable.
