The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, has confirmed that Turkey will launch its first-ever overseas deep-water drilling in Somali waters this February.

Turkey is currently assembling its new generation ultra-deep water drill ship, Cagri Bey, the new modern fleet that is being assembled at the port of Tasucu before sailing to the Indian Ocean for the historic oil exploration mission.

Minister Bayraktar revealed that Turkey has invested heavily in its domestic assets in the Sakarya gas fields in the Black Sea, and they were looking forward to hitting the ground running in the Indian Ocean.

Currently Turkey is ranked 4th globally with 6 state-of-the-art deep-sea drilling fleets, and the recently acquired ship is Cagri Bey, which is set to lead the operation in Somalia by the end of February.

The new economic partnership between Turkey and Somalia, if successful, will positively impact the economy of Somalia, which for decades has depended on international donor aid.

Last year Somalia approved its budget of $1.38 billion and adopted a domestic funding model to reduce overreliance on aid and the oil drilling is set to massively fund Somalia’s economy.