Turkey Tests Somalia’s Offshore Oil Potential With Curad-1 Well

Turkey’s state energy company, Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), is drilling the Curad-1 well off Somalia in a project that could determine the scale of its future oil and gas operations in the country.

The drilling is taking place about 372 kilometres from Mogadishu, with the well reaching waters nearly 3,500 metres deep. TPAO plans to drill about 7,500 metres below the seabed.

The operation comes after Turkey completed 234 days of offshore seismic research in Somalia. Its research vessel, Oruç Reis, surveyed three offshore blocks and collected 3D seismic data covering about 4,464 square kilometres.

The data from that survey is now being used to guide the next stage of exploration. TPAO’s drilling vessel, Çağri Bey, is carrying out work at the Curad-1 well.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has described the project as Turkey’s first deepwater oil drilling operation outside its borders.

The result of the well could shape the size of TPAO’s future work in Somalia. A successful result could make the country one of the company’s most important sources of oil and gas outside Turkey.

Somalia takes a central place in TPAO’s plans

The Somali operation comes as Turkey plans to raise TPAO’s combined oil and gas output from domestic and overseas fields.

Bayraktar said the company wants production to reach nearly 600,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2028. Current output stands at about 330,000 barrels per day.

Turkey also has a longer-term production goal of one million barrels of oil equivalent per day for TPAO.

A large part of the planned increase is projected to come from the Sakarya Gas Field in the Black Sea. At the same time, TPAO is taking on more activity outside Turkey.

Somalia, Iraq, Libya and Oman have emerged as destinations for the company’s overseas operations. TPAO is turning earlier cooperation agreements into investment stakes, production-sharing contracts and direct drilling operations.

Somalia now has a specific place in that overseas programme because drilling has begun after the completion of the seismic survey.

The Oruç Reis survey gave TPAO 3D seismic data from the three offshore blocks. Such data is being used for the next stage of exploration, which is now taking place at Curad-1.

The well’s location and planned depth make the drilling a major technical operation for TPAO outside Turkey. The vessel is working in waters nearly 3,500 metres deep, with the well planned to extend another 7,500 metres below the seabed.

The outcome, for Somalia, will provide the first major result from this phase of Turkey’s offshore exploration programme.

For TPAO, the result could determine whether its Somali operations stay at the exploration stage or become a major source of production outside Turkey.

The company’s plans show that its overseas work is not limited to surveys and cooperation agreements. It is also taking direct steps to test offshore prospects through drilling.

The Curad-1 well therefore carries significance for the next stage of TPAO’s work in Somalia. Its result could determine the scale of the company’s future oil and gas operations there.