Turkey - Fatih/Yavuz Drillships

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on 07 December 2019 his country does not wish conflict with anyone but would protect its vessels in the eastern Mediterranean by any means necessary if it came to it. “We promoted this to the Greek Cypriots, Greece, the EU, the UN, everyone, but they don’t want cooperation hence I will send in my ships,” he said. He said that Turkey does not want to engage in conflict with anyone but would take all measures, whatever they may be, to protect her vessels.

Efforts to reinforce Turkey's position in the Mediterranean as a key energy player accelerated in 2019 with the launch of the country's first drilling vessel that started operating in late October 2018. The first drillship, Fatih, started well-drilling operations in late October off the coast of Antalya, a Mediterranean coastal province. The 229-meter vessel is capable of drilling to a maximum depth of 12,192 meters. The first well is to reach a depth of 5,500 meters.

Turkey’s drillship “Fatih” was left without the specialised technical support necessary to conduct its operations, following the complete withdrawal in July 2019 of the last two international companies that had remained partly in support of its activities. As a result, “Fatih” will now mainly be operated by Turkish companies and personnel.

A twin of the Fatih, the sixth generation drillship Yavuz was bought by Turkish Petroleum for $262.5 million. Committed to expanding operations, Turkey's state-run oil company Turkish Petroleum (TP) bought a second drillship, which arrived in a shipyard in the northern Marmara province of Yalova for maintenance and renovation in April 2019. Deepsea Metro-1 was purchased to increase exploration and drilling activities within the scope of National Energy and Mining Policy, At a rally in the Black Sea province of Rize, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the second drillship was named Yavuz. "After maintenance and renovation, Yavuz will begin drilling a well in the Mediterranean. Yavuz is one of the 16 deep-sea drilling vessels with the same qualities in the world," Erdogan said, emphasizing, "Turkey is adamant to exercise its hydrocarbon resources in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea."

Turkey is speeding up its efforts to acquire and a third drillship, according to the country's pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak which reported in December 2019 that Ankara was seeking to buy from the Norwegian companies from which it purchased its Fatih and Yavuz vessels. According to Yeni Sanak's front page story, entitled "A new move for a third drillship," Turkey is planning the purchase of a new vessel while also straining the staff that will staff it.

Odfjell Drilling and Metrostar had joint ownership of two state of the art ultra, deep water drillships of Gusto design: Deepsea Metro I and Deepsea Metro II. The drillships were delivered by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in South Korea during the 2nd and 4th quarter of 2011, respectively. Odfjell Drilling is responsible for following up construction and drillship management and operation. The Deepsea Metro I and II are designed for operations in water depths up to 10,000 feet. The drillships have a dual derricks with a main and an auxiliary work centre to facilitate simultaneous operations and dual active heave compensating drawworks for safe and efficient operations. The drillships are equipped with large deck areas providing ample storage capacities. The drillships comply with international rules and regulations for operations worldwide, except harsh environments.

The drilships have a dual derrick with a main work centre and an auxiliary work centre to facilitate simultaneous operations. Both work centres are equipped for drilling. The derrick is 64 meters high and designed for use with active compensating drawworks. This ensures reduced maintenance requirements and reduces weight in the top of the derrick by eliminating the need for topmounted compensators. A parallel pipe racking system with fingerboard and belly board for all stand positions and two (redundant) PRS-5 column racking machines serve both the main and auxiliary centres. The derrick racking capacity is 1,587 mt of casing and drill string from 3.5 to 22 in diameter. There is a personnel elevator from the drillfloor to the top of the derrick.