Turkey to start oil drilling off Somali Coast in 2025-  Minister

Turkey's drilling for oil off the Somali coast is set to commence in 2025 as part of a cooperation deal between the two countries signed last month, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar announced on Friday.

"There is a place on the Somali seaside we consider may have oil reserves. We will start seismic work, we want to do deep sea drilling in 2025," he said in an interview with a private Turkish broadcaster NTV.

Little is known of the 10-year deal which was signed for Somalia by the Minister of Petroleum and Mining Abdirizak Mohamed. Calls to the Minister went unanswered and he did not respond to EV questions.

However, a senior government official who did not wish to be named confirmed the oil exploration by Turkey is indeed expected to start in 2025 as indicated in the agreement but said it would only happen once a production agreement sharing is signed by the two countries.

“That's true. As per the agreement signed between Somalia and Turkey on March 8, offshore oil drilling is to commence in 2025. It will only happen once the Production-Sharing Agreement is signed,” the source confirmed.

When he signed the oil and gas exploration agreement in March, Abdirizak said the agreement was for Turkey to do the oil exploration on onshore and offshore blocks in Somalia as well as market the product.

"The Turkish will do the exploration, appraisal and development and production of petroleum from onshore and offshore blocks of the Federal Republic of Somalia as well as distribution, and maybe a refinery sale of petroleum and its product and service operations related to these projects," he told VOA back then.

Abdirizak said the deal was one of the protocols of the Defense and Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement reached by the two countries in February.

Under that agreement, which will last for 10 years, Turkey will build, train and equip the Somali navy, according to Somalia Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre.

Abdirizak said a follow-up agreement will contain details of the production-sharing agreement, as well as the timeline for the deal.

Somalia and Turkey have enjoyed cordial relations since 2011 when Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan visited Somalia when the country was facing a devastating famine. His visit then, was the first by a Foreign leader to Somalia and opened up the country to foreign attention and intervention.

Since then, Turkey has invested heavily in Somalia and provided humanitarian assistance as well as gone to sign major development and Defence pacts with Somalia which saw Turkish companies given major contracts to run Somalia's airport and seaport.

Turkey opened its biggest embassy and military base outside Turkey in Somalia due to the strong ties it enjoys with Somalia.

According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, bilateral trade volume with Somalia reached $187.3 million in 2018 and $250.85 million in 2019.

The news was received with mixed reactions by ordinary Somalis in the capital Mogadishu.

“We welcome the news. This is the right time for us since we are in need of the resources. I am not sure of the share agreements but I think it's a positive trajectory for our country,” Abdirahman Ali told Eastleigh Voice.

Another resident Ahmed Mohamed had a divergent view. “I don't think this is the right time for us to start drilling for oil because we have no security. It better we wait until when we defeat Al-Shabaab,” Mohamed said.