Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar announced that the seventh-generation deep-sea drilling vessel Abdülhamid Han had completed four years of duty in the Blue Homeland. The vessel is continuing Türkiye’s energy exploration and production activities in the Mediterranean and Black seas.
Abdülhamid Han is 238 meters long and 42 meters wide and can drill to depths of up to 12,120 meters. The vessel is currently continuing drilling operations at the Türkali-44 well in the Black Sea.
A mission extending from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea
The vessel was dispatched by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from Mersin’s Taşucu Port on August 9, 2022, to the Yörükler-1 well in the Mediterranean. It later worked at the Taşucu-1 and Akseki-1 wells.
After its operations in the Mediterranean, Abdülhamid Han was assigned to the Sakarya Gas Field and crossed the Istanbul Strait to reach the Black Sea in 2024. The vessel also began operations at the Amasra-4 well this year.
Abdülhamid Han has drilled at 17 wells in the Black Sea since 2024. Its total number of assignments in the Mediterranean and Black Sea has reached 20 wells.
![Abdülhamid Han sondaj gemisi göreve başlıyor - [İLKHA] İlke Haber Ajansı](https://ilkha.com/img/OldFeaturedImage/TR//Norm/abdulhamid-han-sondaj-gemisi-goreve-basliyor1659931249.jpg)
It took part in the 75-billion-cubic-meter discovery
Bayraktar said that Abdülhamid Han took part in the discovery of 75 billion cubic meters of natural gas at the Göktepe-3 well. The minister said the vessel was continuing its work in line with Türkiye’s goal of energy independence.
With a fleet consisting of six deep-sea drilling vessels, Türkiye has the world’s fourth-largest energy fleet. Production continues at the Sakarya Gas Field, while drilling operations are also being carried out in Somalia with the Çağrı Bey vessel.