Çağrı Bey nears early completion at Curad-1 well offshore Somalia
Turkey’s TPAO is on pace to finish drilling the Curad-1 exploration well offshore Somalia by the end of September, about a month ahead of the original October target, according to Somali Petroleum Authority Director General Abdulkadir Adan. The ultra-deepwater drillship Çağrı Bey has reached a depth of about 3,000 m at the well, located roughly 370 km offshore Mogadishu, with no accidents or technical problems reported so far.
Curad-1 marks TPAO’s first deep-sea drilling operation outside Turkish waters and Somalia’s first offshore well. The operation targets a water depth of about 3,500 m and a total depth of roughly 7,500 m, a milestone reached after Türkiye’s seismic vessel Oruç Reis surveyed 4,464 sq km across three offshore blocks under a 2024 hydrocarbon cooperation agreement between the two countries. Between 470 and 480 personnel are working aboard the drilling and support vessels Altan, Korkut and Sancar, with Turkish nationals making up about 20% of the workforce.
Çağrı Bey arrived offshore Somalia in April to begin the campaign, which was originally expected to run about 288 days. A successful result at Curad-1 would help determine Somalia’s offshore hydrocarbon potential and could move Turkish-Somali energy cooperation toward a production phase.
