Türkiye to add extra muscle to its energy vessel fleet with 7th ship

Türkiye is advancing its fleet of energy vessels with a new ship purchased to ramp up the production of natural gas the country found in the Black Sea over the past few years.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Sunday Türkiye had acquired a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) platform that is expected to set sail in the coming days and arrive in two months.

The ship will help produce gas from the vast Sakarya field off the northwestern Zonguldak province. The reserve, which has been discovered gradually since August 2020, is believed to contain 710 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas.

Türkiye started pumping gas from the field into the national grid through a pipeline linked to an onshore processing facility in September 2023.

Once operational, the FPSO will serve as a “base” capable of producing enough gas to supply about 5 million households, Erdoğan said.

The output from the Black Sea reserve has reached 5.1 million cubic meters (mcm) per day, enough to meet the needs of 2 million homes, Alparslan Bayraktar, the minister of energy and natural resources, said earlier this month.

The new vessel measures 300 meters (985) in length and 58 meters in width, Erdoğan said. It could stay in the Black Sea for 15-20 years, he added.

Türkiye is almost entirely dependent on imports to cover its energy needs, which left it vulnerable to rising costs that surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Over the years, it expanded its inventory by ramping up its hydrocarbon explorations in the Black Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean to curb external dependence.

The latest addition will bring the number of vessels in Türkiye’s energy fleet to seven. Those include four drilling, namely Fatih, Yavuz, Kanuni and Abdülhamid Han, and two seismic research vessels, the Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa and MTA Oruç Reis.

Bayraktar had previously announced in November 2023 that the fleet would be bolstered by adding an FPSO vessel. “We are adding a vessel that will be positioned at sea, something that is rare globally, in the coming period,” the minister said.

The Sakarya gas field will meet approximately 30% of the nation’s annual gas need once the production reaches total capacity. Türkiye’s annual gas consumption exceeds 50 billion cubic meters (bcm).

The Black Sea output is aimed to be lifted first to 10 mcm before reaching 40 mcm in the final phase, enough to supply up to 15 million households.

Türkiye initially conducted seismic data collection projects via service procurement before it began to build a domestic inventory by commissioning its first seismic research vessel, Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa, at the end of 2012.

The ship can examine geological structures up to 8 kilometers (5 miles) below the sea and collect two- and three-dimensional seismic data. The 4,711 gross ton vessel, equipped with automatic direction and position determination via satellite communication, measures 84 meters in length and 21.6 meters in width and has a helicopter pad.

The construction of the other seismic research vessel, MTA Oruç Reis, began in 2012 using entirely domestic resources. Equipped with advanced scientific and technical equipment, the vessel started operational testing, training and trial activities in August 2017.

Capable of conducting deep seismic surveys in two and three dimensions in open seas, the MTA Oruç Reis is also engaged in strategic scientific research, such as monitoring the continuity of land areas under the sea, including the continental shelf. It can image geological structures up to 15,000 meters deep from the seabed and monitor the seafloor in detail at depths of up to 1,500 meters using a modern remotely operated underwater vehicle.

The MTA Oruç Reis, equipped with 35 cameras at various angles, is currently preparing to head to Somalia with support vessels by the end of September from its station at Filyos Port off the coast of Zonguldak.

The deployment is part of a hydrocarbon cooperation deal announced last week. The vessel will search for oil and gas off the coast of Somalia.

Türkiye’s first national drilling vessel, Fatih, was added to the inventory of the state energy company Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) in 2017. Fatih was first deployed in late June before it started its first deep-sea drilling at the Tuna-1 location off the coast of Zonguldak.

Constructed and launched in South Korea in 2011, the drilling vessel operates with sixth-generation technology. Measuring 229 meters in length, 36 meters in width and 51,283 gross tons in weight, Fatih can drill at depths of up to 12,200 meters under very high pressure. With a total lifting capacity of 1,750 tons from its two towers and an active positioning system, the vessel can remain stable even in wave heights of up to 6 meters.

Fatih is the vessel that discovered the largest natural gas reserve in Türkiye’s history and also marked the largest offshore discovery globally in 2020. The ship continues its drilling operations at the Göktepe-2 well in the Black Sea, which began in late May.

The Yavuz drilling vessel, completed in 2011, has served in various countries, including Tanzania, Kenya, Malaysia and the Philippines, before being acquired by TPAO in 2018.

Measuring approximately 230 meters in length and 36 meters in width, the vessel has a drilling tower approximately 103 meters high above sea level. Capable of drilling at depths of up to 12,200 meters under very high pressure, Yavuz can continue drilling in wave heights of up to 6 meters with its dynamic positioning system.

One of only 16 vessels worldwide with this design, Yavuz allows for simultaneous operations with its dual-tower design. The vessel includes amenities such as sports and cinema rooms and rest areas, and it has a four-bed mini hospital with a full-time doctor. Yavuz, with a fuel capacity of 7.5 million liters and generating electricity through 42-megawatt diesel generators, continues its exploration operations in the Black Sea.

Türkiye’s third drilling vessel, Kanuni, joined the fleet in early 2020. Constructed in 2012, the vessel measures 227 meters in length and 42 meters in width. The vessel underwent maintenance, upgrades and reactivation before departing for the Black Sea in mid-November.

Following tower assembly, sea trials, drilling equipment installation and wellhead safety system maintenance at Filyos Port, the vessel began its mission at the Sakarya field. The Kanuni commenced its first drilling in early May 2021, conducting deep-sea well testing at the Türkali-2 well.

The Abdülhamid Han became the fourth drillship in Türkiye’s fleet in 2022.

Acquired by TPAO for $180 million in November 2021, the vessel was constructed by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering at the Okpo Shipyard in South Korea. Departing from Okpo Port in South Korea in early March 2022, the vessel arrived in Türkiye’s waters two months later.

With advanced seventh-generation technology, the vessel measures 238 meters in length and 42 meters in width, with a tower height of 104 meters.

With a capacity for 200 crew members and an active positioning system, the vessel underwent two months of preparations.

The Abdülhamid Han, capable of drilling at depths of up to 12,200 meters, is said to be the most powerful vessel in the fleet with its technical and physical features.

The ship was sent off for its maiden exploration in early August 2022 before it performed its first drilling in the Mediterranean Sea.