Turkish Petroleum's latest drillship, Yildirim (formerly West Draco), has arrived at the Sakarya gas field in the Black Sea to begin its first operation. This vessel is the most recent addition to the company's six-strong fleet, following the acquisition of two seventh-generation drillships from Norway-based Eldorado Drilling last year.

Deployment and Tasks

Yildirim departed from Filyos port on Turkey's north coast and is now on location in the deepwater Black Sea. Its primary task is to perform well completion work at the Turkali-16 well. This brings the total number of Turkish Petroleum's rigs in the Black Sea to five, with four operating at Sakarya and one drilling an exploration well at a separate location.

Current Drilling Operations

According to marine intelligence provider VesselsValue, the rigs Kanuni, Yavuz, and Abdulhamid Han are currently drilling development wells at Turkali-30, Turkali-34, and Turkali-43, respectively. Approximately 130 kilometers to the east, the drillship Fatih is drilling the Eflani-1 wildcat exploration well.

Additional Operations

Turkish Petroleum's other rig, Cagri Bey (the former West Dorado), is drilling ahead on the Curad-1 wildcat exploration well offshore Somalia.