Turkey Prepares to Drill Second Med Well

Turkey's state upstream operator, Turkish Petroleum (TP), has begun preparations for its second well, offshore Mersin in the Mediterranean Sea, energy minister Fatih Donmez announced November 26.

He is also reported as saying that the drilling in shallow waters will take two months, after which the drill ship will then move offshore Adana for a third well, which is expected to take a further four months.

TP took delivery of the drill ship Deepsea Metro earlier this year, renaming it Fatih and started the first Mediterranean drilling off the coast of Antalya October 30, which is expected to take 150 days.

Donmez did not say which drill ship would conduct operations in Mersin and Adana, but Turkey previously announced that it will purchase a second such vessel in December; earlier this month TP signed a $15mn contract with Schlumberger for "project services".

Last year the company conducted seismic surveying within areas of the eastern Mediterranean that are claimed as being part of the Republic of Cyprus's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). However, an industry source told NGW it would not be drilling in any Turkish area disputed by neighbouring states.