Ankara (Somalia Today) – Turkey will start deepwater offshore drilling in Somali waters in February, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said, in what would be Somalia’s first attempt at deepwater drilling and Ankara’s first deepwater exploration project abroad.
Bayraktar said the operation will be carried out by the drilling vessel Cagri Bey and will focus on offshore areas within Somali waters, without disclosing target depths, reserve estimates or the size of investment.
The move expands Turkey’s offshore energy push beyond its nearby seas and into the Indian Ocean, as Ankara seeks to grow its overseas energy work while deepening ties with Somalia.
The drilling follows survey work launched after Turkey and Somalia signed a bilateral oil and gas cooperation deal in March 2024, setting out cooperation on exploration and development across Somalia’s onshore and offshore areas.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey planned to start offshore energy drilling off Somalia’s coast in 2026 under the bilateral agreements, and said Ankara also intended to establish a spaceport in Somalia.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud described the upcoming drilling as a “historic victory” and said Somalia would manage any future resource wealth with accountability and fairness, including for future generations.
Turkey’s seismic research vessel Oruc Reis arrived off Somalia’s coast in late 2024 to map underground structures across three licensed offshore zones, each covering about 5,000 square kilometres (1,930 square miles), for a total of roughly 15,000 square kilometres.
Seismic surveys can help operators identify promising geological “traps” and narrow down potential drilling targets in frontier basins, but they do not confirm commercially recoverable volumes — a question typically answered only after drilling and testing.
Somalia’s oil frontier
Somalia has one of Africa’s longest coastlines, yet decades of conflict and weak institutions have left its offshore oil potential largely untested.
U.S. government commercial guides note that geo-seismic studies suggest Somalia “may have” more than 30 billion barrels of oil and gas resources, while warning that any development — if it happens — is likely to be slow and difficult.
Somali authorities have also tried to rebuild a clear path for investors. The Somali Petroleum Authority announced the country’s first offshore licensing round in 2020, offering up to seven blocks, as Mogadishu tried to revive international interest in exploration.
Major international oil firms held exploration positions in Somalia before the collapse of the central government in 1991, but activity halted as the civil war unfolded and companies declared force majeure.
In 2019, Somalia’s state news agency reported that Shell and Exxon Mobil had paid $1.7 million in early rent to lease offshore blocks, a development showed the continuing legacy of pre-war concessions even as Somalia remained too insecure for a return to large-scale operations.
Security umbrella
Operating conditions remain a key uncertainty. Bayraktar has previously acknowledged that exploration in Somalia faces logistical and security hurdles, including limited infrastructure and the threat from Al-Shabaab, the Islamist insurgent group fighting the federal government.
Turkey has also linked energy cooperation to security support. A Turkish defence ministry official said in February 2024 that Ankara would provide maritime security support to Somalia, helping build capacity to tackle illegal and irregular activities in Somali territorial waters.
Turkey has trained Somali forces for years and opened its largest overseas military base in Mogadishu in 2017, strengthening Ankara’s security role as it expands commercial ambitions.
Turkey imports over 90 percent of its energy needs, according to Reuters reporting, leaving it exposed to global price swings and increasing the pressure to pursue new supply options at home and abroad.
Turkish officials often frame the country’s maritime posture — and its offshore energy strategy — through the “Blue Homeland” concept, a doctrine highlighted in European Parliament analysis as part of Turkey’s evolving defence thinking about the seas.
For Somalia, the February drilling would mark a rare, large-scale test of offshore potential after years of stalled plans.
For Turkey, it is a high-risk frontier bet: deepwater campaigns are expensive, timelines are long, and any commercial payoff — if it comes — would likely be years away.
