The latest drilling ship acquired last year is due to arrive in Turkey as soon as next week, according to information from international shipping data.
The vessel will be the fourth drillship to join Turkey’s fleet consisting of Fatih, Kanuni and Yavuz, all acquired in recent years. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the purchase of the latest ship in November.
The vessel is expected to arrive at the Taşucu Port of the Mediterranean province of Mersin on May 19, according to the shipping data.
Equipped with seventh-generation advanced technology and capable of operating in harsh sea conditions and even in high-pressure reservoirs, the drillship is expected to start its exploration activities this summer in a drilling task in the Eastern Mediterranean.
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 ship is currently called "Cobalt Explorer" but will be renamed. Having started its journey from the Okpo Port in South Korea on March 7, the vessel is currently off the Algerian coast.
On Tuesday, Melih Han Bilgin, chairperson and CEO of TPAO, confirmed that the fourth vessel of the country’s fleet is in transit to Taşucu, where it will remain for two months in preparation for its drilling assignment.
The purchase reinforces Turkey’s intention to add pace to its hydrocarbon exploration activities.
The Yavuz drillship last month set sail for its first operation in the renowned Türkali-2 well in the Black Sea, while the first vessel Fatih in February started drilling its third exploratory well in the Sakarya gas field.
In addition to the Black Sea, Turkey is also carrying out exploration activities in the Mediterranean Sea. It also has two seismic research ships, the 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 said to be enough to meet household demand for 30 years. Ankara aims to start pumping gas from the field to its main grid in 2023, with sustained plateau production starting in 2027 or 2028.
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.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez last month said the process of delivery of the deepwater pipes to the Port of Filyos in the northern Black Sea province of Zonguldak would be completed by July. The pipelaying is projected to start in July or August.