The fourth drilling ship Turkey acquired last year is on its way to Turkey, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez said late Monday.
"Our fourth drilling ship, anchored in South Korea, will be in Turkey in about two months," Dönmez said on Twitter.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in November announced that the vessel has been added to the country’s inventory that consists of the Fatih, Yavuz and Kanuni drillships, all acquired in recent years.
Capable of operating in harsh sea conditions and even in high-pressure reservoirs, the fourth drillship is expected to start its exploration activities this summer.
Operated by the state energy company Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), the ship can operate at a maximum depth of 3,665 meters (12,024 feet).
The 238-meter-long and 42-meter-wide vessel weighs 68,000 gross tons and has a maximum drilling depth of 12,200 meters. It has a tower height of 104 meters and a crew capacity of 200.
The latest purchase comes as Turkey adds pace to its hydrocarbon exploration activities.
The country’s first vessel Fatih last month started drilling its third exploration well in the Sakarya gas field in the Black Sea region.
Turkey is currently carrying out exploration activities in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. In addition to the three drillships, it also has two seismic research ships, Oruç Reis and Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa.
Located some 150 kilometers (93 miles) off the coast of Turkey in the Black Sea, the Sakarya gas field is home to the country’s largest-ever natural gas discovery. Fatih has discovered 540 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas there since August 2020.
The size of the discovery is enough to meet household demand for 30 years, Dönmez told a separate meeting on Monday.
Ankara aims to start pumping gas from the field to its main grid in 2023, with sustained plateau production starting in 2027 or 2028.
"We will include this gas into the system in the first quarter of 2023," Dönmez said. "This gas reserve is large enough to meet the needs of all residences in Turkey for 30 years."
The country in January started delivering the pipes that will be used for the pipeline beneath the Black Sea to bring the gas onshore.
Scheduled to be constructed this year, the pipeline that will stretch around 170 kilometers will connect the wells in the region to the main grid.
Turkey is expected to kick-start laying the deepwater pipes once all the tubes have been brought to the Port of Filyos in the northern Black Sea province of Zonguldak. The process is expected to take about five months.