Black Sea Energy Project: Türkiye’s Sixth Drillship Incoming

Türkiye’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced on Monday that the country’s sixth deep-sea drillship for Black Sea operations will arrive in the southern port city of Mersin on Wednesday.

Bayraktar visited the vessel Seven Vega - currently docked at Istanbul's Sarayburnu Port - which will lay subsea pipelines as part of Phase-2 development of the Sakarya Gas Field, The Caspian Post reports, citing Turkish media.

The 143-meter long deepwater vessel, specifically designed for reel-lay pipe installation, will install subsea pipelines that will transport gas to the Osman Gazi Floating Production Unit as part of Phase 2 operations.

The floating production unit Osman Gazi, dispatched to the Black Sea on May 29, will then process the gas before sending it to shore.

"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," Bayraktar said.

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.

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.