A Turkish drilling ship docked at the port of Mogadishu yesterday ahead of Somalia's first offshore oil drilling project, the two countries announced.
A hydrocarbon development deal signed in 2024 granted Turkiye's state-owned energy company the right to explore three offshore blocks of around 5,000 square kilometres each.
In late 2024, another Turkish vessel carried out seismic surveys in the three blocks to identify drilling sites.
The Cagri Bey, featuring a red bow emblazoned with a white star and crescent and topped by a drilling derrick, arrived in Somali waters Thursday and docked in the capital's port yesterday.
"It docked this (Friday) morning... the ship is very big, we have never seen anything like this at the port before," said Abshir Yare, a port employee.
The vessel will carry out "Somalia's first-ever offshore drilling operations", the African nation's state news agency Sonna reported Thursday.
It will also conduct Turkiye's "first overseas deep-sea drilling" operations outside its own waters, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on X.
Bayraktar was due to attend a ceremony at the Mogadishu port yesterday alongside Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, according to Sonna.
Turkiye is one of Somalia's main military and economic partners, with Ankara inaugurating its largest overseas base in Mogadishu in 2017.