Türkiye Launches Three-Front Energy Campaign in Black Sea, Somalia and Nuclear
By Bosphorus News Energy Desk
Türkiye is running three major energy operations simultaneously this month, combining Black Sea gas drilling, its first overseas deepwater campaign off Somalia, and the final commissioning push at the Akkuyu nuclear plant, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar confirmed in late March and early April.
The Abdülhamid Han drillship began the year's first exploration well at Kandıra-2 off the Kocaeli coast on March 27, targeting a depth of approximately 3,100 metres in a 35-day operation. Bayraktar announced that the Fatih drillship will follow in April, drilling the Eflani-1 well north of Bartın along the Zonguldak-Bartın-Kastamonu offshore line. Both wells sit outside the Sakarya gas field, signalling that Ankara is expanding its reserve search beyond existing finds. The push is drawing in international partners: TotalEnergies signed an exploration MoU with TPAO on April 13, as previously reported by Bosphorus News, becoming the fourth Western major to do so in 2026 after ExxonMobil, Chevron and BP. As detailed in our coverage, those agreements began in January and February. Discussions with Chevron were first flagged in our earlier report as part of Ankara's broader effort to attract international technical expertise.
The Sakarya field is moving into a new phase. A floating production unit is expected online this year, targeting daily output of 20 million cubic metres. Production will double in 2026 and quadruple by 2028, eventually covering around 30 percent of Türkiye's annual gas needs.
The overseas dimension opened on April 10, when the Çağrı Bey drillship docked in Mogadishu after a 53-day journey from Mersin. The vessel will drill the Curad-1 well approximately 372 kilometres off the Somali coast, in water depths of around 3,500 metres, with a planned total depth of 7,500 metres. The operation is expected to last 288 days, with around 500 personnel working on rotation. Three Turkish Navy frigates are providing escort. "Çağrı Bey's historic mission is the clearest sign of Türkiye's vision to become a strong and influential actor in global energy," Bayraktar said at the docking ceremony on April 10.
On the nuclear side, Bayraktar said all efforts in 2026 are focused on generating the first electricity from Akkuyu's first reactor. The $20 billion Rosatom-built plant in Mersin has faced repeated delays, but key systems have been installed and grid-tested. Russia has provided approximately $9 billion in new financing, with $4 to $5 billion expected to flow in 2026 alone.
The urgency is partly fiscal. The Iran war has pushed Türkiye's energy subsidy bill from a projected 305 billion lira to a potential 925 billion lira for 2026, with every one-dollar rise in oil prices costing Ankara an estimated $400 million. The state currently covers around 55 percent of electricity bills and 44 to 45 percent of gas bills for consumers.
Türkiye now operates six drillships, ranking fourth globally in fleet size. TPAO has secured rights to drill in Pakistan and is eyeing Libya as a future target.