SHOTLIST:

MERSIN, TÜRKİYE (DEC. 4, 2025) (ANADOLU - ACCESS ALL)

1. VARIOUS OF DEEP-SEA DRILLSHIP AT SEA/ BOATS MOVING AROUND DRILLSHIP/ DRILLSHIP AT PORT

MERSIN, TÜRKİYE - DEC. 4, 2025: Türkiye's sixth deep-sea drillship for Black Sea operations anchored at Tasucu Port in the southern port city of Mersin on Thursday, Dec. 4.

This vessel is the second of the twin deep-sea drilling ships added to Turkey’s energy fleet. The first had arrived on Sept. 30.

The seventh-generation ultra deep-sea drillship, transferred to the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), anchored about 1 mile off Tasucu Port.

Capable of drilling up to 12,000 meters in deep water, the ship will remain in port for accreditation and certification processes before beginning its work in the Black Sea.

"When Osman Gazi is ready around June-July 2026, it will go to its offshore location, these connections will be made, and we will complete the second phase and start production,"Türkiye's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Dec. 1.

Bayraktar added that with Phase 2 the aim is to ramp up daily production by another 10 million cubic meters - increasing supply from 4 million households to 8 million. In 2028, after completion of Phase-3, this capacity is expected to quadruple.

Pipe-laying is expected to be completed early next year, and the system will be connected to Osman Gazi in mid-2026. Once fully operational, Phase-2 will deliver an additional 10 million cubic meters per day, raising total production capacity at Sakarya to 20 million cubic meters daily.

- Six exploration wells planned in 2026

Türkiye currently operates four drillships in the Black Sea - Fatih, Yavuz, Kanuni and Abdülhamid Han - while a fifth vessel is stationed in Mersin Tasucu.

"Our sixth deep-sea drillship, or our second newly-acquired vessel, will be in Mersin on Wednesday," he announced, adding that the second new vessel will begin its duty in the Black Sea after about 1-2 months.

"In addition to boosting our current production, we are planning six new exploratory drillings in the Black Sea in 2026 at promising locations in the eastern, central and western regions," Bayraktar said.