Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has officially confirmed that Turkey has acquired two additional offshore drilling rigs to support its deep-sea hydrocarbon exploration efforts. With these additions, Turkey’s fleet now totals six floating drillships, placing the country among the top four globally in terms of such assets.
Following a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Erdoğan stated that the new drillships will bolster Turkey’s capacity for natural gas exploration in deep waters. One of the newly acquired vessels is expected to be deployed in Libya, while the other will operate off the coast of Taşucu in southern Turkey’s Mersin province.
The news had first emerged on July 7 through maritime-focused outlet HaberDenizde.com, which reported that Turkey’s state-run oil company TPAO purchased the two vessels — named West Draco and West Dorado — from Norwegian company Eldorado Drilling. Each ship reportedly cost $245 million.
According to the same source, the rigs will undergo maintenance and inspection upon arrival in Turkey before being dispatched to their respective destinations.
The new additions will join Turkey’s existing drillship fleet, which includes the Fatih, Yavuz, Kanuni, and Abdulhamid Han. These vessels have been central to Ankara’s energy strategy in recent years, particularly in contested maritime zones.
Meanwhile, the president of Turkey’s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) highlighted that the deployment of one drillship to Libya aligns with Ankara’s strategy to deepen regional partnerships. He pointed to recent mineral discoveries in southern Libya as a key area of interest, particularly in expanding cooperation with the eastern part of the country.
