Turkey launches first overseas drilling mission in Somalia: What to know
A drilling ship has reached Somalia to start Turkey's first overseas drilling mission as regional rivalry heats up in the Horn of Africa.
ANKARA — A Turkish deep-sea drilling vessel arrived at Somalia's Port of Mogadishu on Thursday to launch Ankara’s first overseas hydrocarbon drilling mission as regional rivalry in the Horn of Africa intensifies alongside internal political rifts within Somalia.
What happened: Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Thursday that the Turkish drilling vessel Cagri Bey had arrived in Somali waters for what he described as a “historic mission,” marking Turkey’s first deep-sea drilling operation beyond its borders.
The venture will open “a brand new chapter in the energy history of both Turkey and Somalia,” he wrote on X.
Drilling is planned to reach 7,500 meters over an estimated 288 days. The exploration site, the Curad-1 well, is roughly 372 kilometers (231 miles) off the coast of Mogadishu, according to an infographic shared on X by the Energy Ministry.
Somali Minister of Ports and Marine Transport Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, who joined the welcoming ceremony in Mogadishu, called the Cagri Bey “our pride and joy” and expressed hope it will “discover our riches” off Somalia’s coast. Ankara had dispatched the vessel in February.
Laying the groundwork: Seismic surveys were conducted at the site between 2024 and 2025.
According to the International Trade Administration at the US Department of Commerce, Somalia is sitting on an estimated undiscovered 30 billion barrels of oil, the equivalent of more than 80 years of Turkish consumption at one million barrels per day.
The financial terms of the agreement have not been made public, but any commercially viable discovery is expected to benefit both sides, particularly Turkey, which imports roughly 90% of its energy needs.
In addition to energy cooperation, Somalia holds strategic importance for Turkey as a gateway to the Horn of Africa and a partner in its broader geopolitical and economic expansion in the region. The country hosts one of Turkey’s largest overseas military bases, anchoring Ankara’s regional presence.
Growing rivalry in region: The drilling mission comes amid intensifying geopolitical competition in the Horn of Africa following Israel’s recognition of Somaliland in December. The breakaway region declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and operates autonomously, but only Israel recognizes its independence.
Following the move, Turkey formally designated Somalia’s territorial integrity as a national security priority, underscoring the strategic stakes tied to its expanding footprint.
Internal rifts in Somalia: The mission unfolds against rising internal tensions in Somalia, where disputes between Mogadishu and regional administrations have escalated over constitutional changes that critics of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud say are aimed at centralizing power.
The tensions coincide with Turkey’s expanding military footprint in the country, including the deployment of F-16 fighter jets, helicopters and tanks earlier this year, a move that has drawn increased scrutiny from domestic opposition figures wary of Ankara’s growing role.
Opposition figures are also scrutinizing the reported use of Turkish military equipment in the federal government’s crackdown on local governments. Somali lawmaker Abdi Ismail Samatar accused Ankara of seeking to establish a client state and exploit Somalia’s resources in March.
Samatar called Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud a “minion” of Turkey, which, he claimed in a post on X, “is focused on establishing a client state so it could loot whatever natural resources and strategic value our country has.”
Know more: Turkey rejects the accusation of taking sides in Somalia’s internal rifts. A Turkish national security official told Al-Monitor last week, “Before the 2022 elections, many Somali factions and even Hassan Sheikh Mohamud himself were accusing us of backing then-incumbent President Farmaajo [former Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed], but he won nonetheless.”
He added, “Now Hassan’s opponents are accusing us of the same thing.”
