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Türkiye’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources has confirmed the arrival of a seventh-generation drillship to Somalia, where it is expected to kick off hydrocarbon offshore exploration activities and spud what is described as the world’s second-deepest offshore well.
The Çağrı Bey seventh-generation ultra-deepwater drillship, which was completed in South Korea in 2024, will carry out Türkiye’s first deep-sea exploration drilling operation abroad. The rig, which arrived in Somalia on April 9, 2026, after a 53-day journey, is expected to set sail on April 10 and reach the CURAD-1 well location within a day or two, which is 372 kilometers off the coast of Mogadishu.
According to Türkiye’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, an underwater robot, capable of diving to 4,000 meters, will be used for the seabed operations during the drilling activities the drillship will conduct. Upon reaching the well location, the Çağrı Bey rig will complete the positioning work, followed by various tests related to the drilling process.
Afterward, the drillship will drill to a total depth of 7,500 meters, reaching 4,005 meters below the seabed at a water depth of 3,495 meters. The CURAD-1 well is expected to become the world’s second-deepest offshore well at a depth of 7,500 meters.
The drilling operations in Somalia are expected to last 288 days. Given the use of the underwater robot, Türkiye’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources claims that the drilling operation will go down in history as one of the rare instances where underwater robots used in such operations have reached this depth.
Capable of drilling up to 12,000 meters in deep waters, the Çağrı Bey drillship measures 228 meters in length, 114 meters in height, and 42 meters in width. The vessel, which features a helicopter pad, also provides living quarters for 200 personnel.
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