Turkey’s drillship Fatih begins drilling in Black Sea

ANKARA

Turkey’s first drillship, Fatih, began drilling in the Tuna-1 location in the Black Sea yesterday, according to Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez.

“We will search every square meter of our seas for Turkey’s energy independence,” Dönmez wrote on Twitter.

“If it’s there, we’ll find it,” he added, referring to the potential gas reserves in the depth of some 2,000 meters off the Black Sea province of Zonguldak.

Fatih’s 103-meter-long towers were disassembled in the Haydarpaşa port in Istanbul to enable the safe passage of the vessel under the bridges through the Bosphorus before its journey to the Black Sea.

The Fatih drilling vessel set sail for the Black Sea on May 29 from Istanbul to Trabzon port where it reached its destination for reassembly on June 6.

Energy Deputy Energy Minister Alparslan announced plans to drill in the Black Sea earlier in the year as part of the ministry’s aim to bolster the country’s energy independence by using local natural resources.

Previously, Fatih conducted drilling activities in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Turkish drillships Yavuz and Kanuni, along with seismic vessels Oruç Reis and Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa, are following drilling plans in areas off Turkey’s southern coast and Cyprus.