ANKARA (SD)-Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alp Arslan Bayraktar, announced today that his country intends to explore oil and gas in three locations off the coast of Somalia.

This announcement came during a press conference in Istanbul following his participation in a signing ceremony between Ankara and Mogadishu for an agreement on oil exploration and extraction. Bayraktar met with Somalia’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Abdirizak Omar Mohamed.

The Turkish minister explained that Turkey has become one of the countries with the most advanced marine exploration ships, enabling the discovery of significant natural gas reserves in the Black Sea due to these exploration vessels.

He pointed out that Turkey is conducting marine exploration within its waters and undertaking exploration activities off the coasts of several other countries. The agreement with Somalia is a testament to this.

Bayraktar mentioned that the Turkish research vessel “Al-Rais Oruc” will arrive in Somalia to commence exploration activities by the end of September.

Somalia’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources stated that the finalized agreement will contribute to strengthening the relationship between the two countries.