Turkey procures its third drilling vessel from UK

Turkey has procured its third drilling vessel form the U.K. which is set to arrive in Turkey in a few weeks, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez has said.

Turkey will continue to work unabated in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, he said on Feb. 24 at an energy and natural resources summit.

"We got the third drilling vessel from the U.K. The process for the vessel's port operations continues. It will begin sailing in a few days and I can say it will be in Turkey within a few weeks," the minister said.

"The vessel is likely to operate in the Mediterranean, but we may send one of our vessels to the Black Sea, where we halted work for a long time. Also, friendly countries are requesting to receive technical services from us. We can evaluate these too," he said.

Also speaking at the conference, Deputy Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said that the third drilling ship will start its activities by the second half of this year.

Turkey has developed a medium-term exploration program that will last until 2023 for its oil and gas exploration, Bayraktar said.

"We especially tried to intensify our searches in the seas. In this context, we equipped our fleet with three modern vessels. We aim our third drillings vessels will arrive in Turkey next month and start drillings in the second half of this year," he stated.

Turkey is advancing its possibilities, but also continuing partnership negotiations with foreign companies, he noted.

The Turkish government also follows the interests of foreign oil and gas companies in the regions in which Turkey conducts research.

In the new period, Turkey aims to start work in the Black Sea after the second half of the year, he said.