The new mission announcement comes after last week's state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) announced that drilling operations were completed after 77 days at the Türkali-1 well in the Sakarya gas sector.

In the Türkali-1 well, Fatih's operations extended to depths of over 3,920 meters (2.4 miles).

Last year, a drill ship discovered 405 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas at the Tuna-1 site in the Sakarya gas field, about 100 nautical miles north of the Black Sea coast of Turkey.

Turkey expects the first flow of gas from the field in 2023, with an annual flow of 5-10 bcm of gas anticipated. As of 2025, the sector is projected to hit an output plateau of around 15 bcm. As officials said earlier, the country plans to open up to 40 wells in the region, of which up to 10 wells are expected to be completed by 2023.

“Engineering studies are ongoing to bring the gas ashore after production starts. We hope to connect the gas discovered in the Sakarya gas field to Turkey’s transmission system at Filyos by 2023," said Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez.

Maritime Business World