Fatih drillship starts drilling in Turkali-1 well

By Gokce Topbas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's first drillship, Fatih, began drilling in the Türkali-1 well in the Sakarya gas field in the Black Sea, according to Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez on Thursday.

Donmez shared on his Twitter account that "Fatih restarted drilling in the Black Sea following preparatory work. Our drilling will take 75 days."

This drilling follows on from the announcement on Aug. 21 of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the "biggest gas discovery” in Turkey’s history of 320 billion cubic meters in the Tuna-1 gas field also located in the Sakarya gas field.

Turkish officials had said the gas from the Tuna-1 well would be ready for public use in 2023, while also sharing their optimism that more reserves would soon be found.

On Oct. 17, Turkey discovered an additional 85 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves in the Black Sea, and on Oct. 21, Erdogan confirmed that the vessel was slated to start operations on the Turkali 1 well in November.