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Search for oil off Somalia has double motive for Turkey

Turkey oil gas Somalia Reuters/Yoruk Isik
The Turkish research ship Oruç Reis will be searching for oil and gas across 15,000 sq.km of 'tough geography' off the coast of Somalia
  • Ankara ‘looking to expand influence’
  • Move is ‘not just oil exploration’
  • Increased Turkish military presence

Turkey’s search for oil and gas off the coast of Somalia is not just a bid to free it from a dependence on imports, observers say – the move has a geopolitical aspect, too.

On October 5 the 4,800-tonne energy research vessel Oruç Reis sailed through Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait on the first leg of its journey to East Africa, where it will start surveying three offshore blocks by the end of the month. 

Turkey was granted exploration rights over the three fields by the Mogadishu government in March, with the entire licensed area covering 15,000 square kilometres.

Two of the blocks are 50 kilometres off the Somali coast, with the third twice that distance from the shore. 

The departure of the Oruç Reis to search for oil in Somalia heralded the next stage of Turkey shifting from being a net energy importer towards self-sufficiency, the country’s energy minister, Alparslan Bayraktar, said.

“With the experience we have gained and our strong infrastructure, we are now in the international arena. We are taking firm steps towards becoming fully independent in energy by increasing our resource diversity,” he said.

As a nod to the uncertain security conditions in the waters off Somalia, two Turkish frigates are also being despatched to the region, along with three support vessels. 

The warships, and an increased Turkish military presence, will also support Somali efforts to counter terrorism, illegal fishing, piracy and smuggling in the region, according to a parliamentary resolution passed in July.

Despite the enthusiastic send-off for the Oruç Reis, not all are convinced its mission will achieve its stated goals of finding extractable oil in the seas off Somalia.

There are no guarantees of success, with the physical difficulties of the search areas combined with problems over generating investor interest, according to Mehmet Öğütçü, CEO of the strategic advisory group Global Resources and current chair of the London Energy Club, a UK-based gathering of government and private sector energy, finance and political leaders. 

“The reason Ankara is getting into this Somali business is more political than commercial, because the three blocks they are interested in are offshore and in deep waters,” he told AGBI. 

Tough geography

“It is not a piece of cake for the Turkish petroleum industry, because it is a very tough geography and tough exploration. It is going to cost a huge amount of money.”

However, not all the potential benefits from the project are likely to come from finds on the seabed, Öğütçü said, with Ankara looking to expand its sphere of influence in a strategic part of the world.

“It is more a reflection of Turkey’s geopolitical intentions in the region,” he said. “There are other Turkish businesses in Somalia as well – construction, mining and agriculture – so it is complementary to what the country is doing. One has to see it as a full picture, not only oil and gas exploration.”