Cagri Bay can drill to 12,000 meters depth, targeting Curad-1 well at 7,500 meters offshore Somalia. Turkey’s seventh generation deep-drilling vessel Cagri Bay departed for Somalia on February 15, representing Ankara’s first overseas deepwater oil and gas exploration campaign and signaling renewed momentum in East Africa’s frontier basins. Security Partnership Underpins Energy AmbitionsThe drilling campaign operates within the framework of the Defense and Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement signed between Turkey and Somalia in February 2024. Turkey’s Expanding African Energy FootprintThe Somalia deployment is the latest extension of Turkey’s growing energy presence across Africa. The partnership includes onshore acreage in the Murzuq Basin and offshore Mediterranean blocks, building on a June 2025 offshore exploration memorandum of understanding between Libya and TPAO.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 17, 2026 10:47 UTC