Somalia’s President visits Turkish drillship as offshore oil exploration advances

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has visited the Turkish drilling vessel Çağrı Bey in Somali waters to inspect ongoing offshore oil exploration operations, according to a statement from the presidency.

The president travelled to the vessel on October 16, where he received briefings from engineers, technical staff and other officials on the progress of drilling activities, work completed and preliminary findings.

During the visit, Hassan Sheikh was shown the vessel’s equipment and control room before holding discussions with the leadership overseeing the operation. The briefings focused on the drilling process and the work being undertaken to assess Somalia’s offshore petroleum resources.

The president also visited a naval vessel accompanying the operation, where he was received by officers and signed the ship’s visitors’ book.

The visit highlights the Somali government’s interest in offshore oil exploration as the country seeks to establish the extent of its petroleum resources and assess their potential economic value.

The Çağrı Bey operation forms part of Somalia’s cooperation with Türkiye in exploring offshore energy resources. However, the preliminary findings and the commercial viability of any potential oil discoveries have not been detailed in the information released about the visit.

Mustaqbal