Abdülhamid Han ship dispatched to Black Sea for drilling

ISTANBUL

Türkiye's seventh-generation drill ship, Abdülhamid Han, has set sails for the Black Sea to start drilling in the region.

Abdülhamid Han vessel will move to its new location in the Black Sea, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told reporters on board the vessel, which is the fourth ship in Türkiye's deep sea drilling fleet.

The vessel has already conducted three deep-sea drills in the Mediterranean Sea.

Abdülhamid Han ship first arrived in Filyos port in the northwestern province of Zonguldak to have its towers reinstalled as they were dismantled for the Istanbul Strait crossing.

Citing the largest natural gas discovery in Turkish history in the Sakarya Gas Field in 2020, Bayraktar said, "There is a very large reserve in that region… We need to increase the production of Sakarya Gas Field very quickly."

When asked about the drilling activities in the Mediterranean Sea, Bayraktar said that the Mediterranean Sea was the first location for long-term oil and natural gas exploration and offshore exploration.

He added that the activities in the Mediterranean spurred the country to expand its fleet.

Abdülhamid Han's move to the Black Sea should not be interpreted as losing hope for discovery in the Mediterranean, Bayraktar underlined. "We have never given up on [drilling activities in] the Mediterranean Sea... There are locations in the Mediterranean where we are very hopeful."

Although so far, no discoveries have been made in the region, he said, "We will continue to be active in the Mediterranean."

The minister said that Türkiye plans to conduct seismic works in 2026 in the region.

Türkiye has several ships for exploration and drilling activities in its territorial waters. Drill ships Fatih, Yavuz, Kanuni and Abdülhamid Han, along with seismic exploration vessels Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa and Oruç Reis, are active in the country's oil and gas exploration endeavors.

Last month, the minister announced that one of these vessels, Oruc Reis, will be sent to Somalia to conduct seismic study in the region in October.

In an interview two weeks ago, Bayraktar said there will be more hydrocarbon explorations in the western Black Sea this year.

One of the exploration sites is off the coast of the province of Rize, Bayraktar said, adding that they also identified a site to carry out exploration activity off Sinop.

Daily production at the Sakarya Gas Field is currently at 5.5 million cubic meters (mcm) and is expected to rise to 10 mcm by the first quarter of 2025, according to the minister.

Bayraktar also announced a new floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which departed from Singapore at the end of July, will arrive in the country after two months of sailing to start production in 2026.