A symbol of protecting Ankara’s interests in the Mediterranean. Turk chairman, Recep Tayyip Erdogandrilling rig “Abdul Hamid Khan”.

In his statements and according to the Anadolu agency, the Turkish President said that he believes there will be more good news after the discovery of 540 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the Black Sea.

Turkey’s fourth drilling ship Abdulhamid Han is a symbol of will to protect country’s interests in the Mediterranean: President Erdogan

— ANADOLU AGENCY (@anadoluagency) August 22, 2022

Last week, Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Domez announced that the fourth Turkish drilling rig “Abdul Hamid Khan” started drilling at the Yorukler 1 site. Mr. Donmez said in a post on Wednesday that “the Abdul Hamin Khan drilling rig today began its first drilling at Yorukler-1. We are determined to follow the good news from the Black Sea this time with good news from the Mediterranean.” May the fate of our ship be good, and its drilling fruitful, thanks to the sweat of our engineers and the prayers of our people.

Recall that at a ceremony in Mersin on August 9, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the deployment of a floating drilling rig in the area of ​​29 nautical miles (about 55 kilometers) from Gazibas, practically on the border of the Gulf of Antalya, within the Turkish continental shelf. Based NAVTEX which was reported almost immediately (770/22) “Abdul Hamid Khan” will move in the area until October 7, 2022.

The choice of Mr. Erdogan, despite the show held in Mersin and rhetorical exaggeration, reflects the desire for a – limited – period of calm in Eastern Mediterranean. According to some calculations, around the end of September there will be a relatively accurate picture of the situation at the Yorukler 1 site, where Abdul Hamit Khan will be exploratory drilling, and then it will be seen whether the Turkish Oil Company (TRAO ) decides to expand the business or move on to the next steps.