The largest Turkish drilling ship "Abdul Hamid Khan" is preparing to set sail for energy exploration in the Mediterranean after a ceremony attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who considered it a symbol of Turkey's new vision in the field of energy.
"In the field of energy search, we are present with four exploration ships and two geological survey ships," Erdogan said, during the celebration of the launch of the ship in the port of Tash Ogo in the state of Mersin (south).
He added that Turkey plans to put the natural gas that it is working to extract from the ten wells in the Black Sea, at the service of its citizens in 2023.
Erdogan stressed that Turkey's exploration operations in the Mediterranean were within its areas of sovereignty, "that is why we do not need permission from anyone."
And he added, "We will bid farewell to Abdul Hamid Khan's ship to go to the "Eurukler-1" well, 55 kilometers off the coast of Gazipasa, Antalya."
The Turkish president explained that the "Euroclear-1" well is the first step in a comprehensive Turkish business plan in the eastern Mediterranean.
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The Turkish research and exploration ship "Abdul Hamid Khan" is preparing for its first missions, which will start on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/EV0XEg56zq
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resumption of exploration
With this announcement, Turkey will resume drilling for oil and natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean after a two-year hiatus.
In a related context, Turkey announced the international notification of "NAFTEX" regarding the area in which the drilling ship "Abdul Hamid Khan" will operate.
According to the announcement, the ship will continue its missions in the region announced by President Erdogan until the seventh of next October.
And "Naftex" is an abbreviation for the term marine text messages, which is a device that sends international notifications to seafarers in order to alert and communicate with ships at sea.
Ankara said Abdul Hamid Khan's 238-meter-long vessel is the largest and most technologically advanced drilling ship in its survey and exploration fleet, and it can reach the deep sea.
It can drill for a distance of more than 12 km.
The Yavuz, Fatih and Qanuni exploration ships operate in the Black Sea, where Turkey has discovered natural gas reserves of 540 billion cubic meters.
Turkey is almost completely dependent on imports to meet its energy needs, and high global energy prices have faltered the government's plan to turn the current account deficit into a surplus.
The resumption of drilling comes at a time of heightened tension between Turkey and Greece again, with Erdogan accusing Athens of deploying weapons on islands in the Aegean Sea that have the status of a demilitarized zone.
Natural gas discoveries in the eastern Mediterranean over the past decade have made the region an alternative source of energy for Europe, but they have also exposed disputes among the region's neighbors over resource rights.