Turkey has built one of the world's most active state-owned deepwater drilling fleets — four drillships (Fatih, Yavuz, Kanuni, Abdülhamid Han) operating simultaneously in the Black Sea Sakarya gas field, with two new 7th-generation vessels capable of drilling to 12,000 meters due for deployment by early 2026. The flagship Sakarya field, discovered in 2020 via the Tuna-1 well, had reached 9.5 million cubic meters per day of production by April 2025.
The Sakarya field is expected to supply 30% of Turkey's natural gas demand once fully developed. Phase 2 aims to double production through 30 additional wells and deployment of a floating production unit (FPSO) to process gas offshore. A new $30 billion deepwater gas discovery was announced in May 2025, further expanding Turkey's Black Sea hydrocarbon portfolio. For a country that imports nearly all its natural gas, this represents a structural shift in energy security.
Turkey's approach — operating its own drillship fleet through state company TPAO rather than relying on international oil majors — mirrors the sovereignty model applied in defense. The operational expertise in ultra-deep Black Sea drilling (2,000m+ water depth) creates exportable technical capability, while the discovery pipeline reduces Turkey's vulnerability to Russian gas supply disruptions and strengthens its negotiating position as a regional energy hub.