THE fifth-generation semi-submersible drilling rig, Leiv Eiriksson, transited Istanbul’s narrow Bosporus Strait late-December, obliging Turkey to temporarily shut down one of the world’s busiest waterways. Leiv Eiriksson, one of the world’s largest rigs, is making its way to the Black Sea to begin oil and gas explorations off Turkey’s coast in February.
The rig’s drilling package had to be dismounted to allow it to pass beneath bridges on the Bosporus. Once reassembled, the unit will drill for possible oil and gas under a joint venture between Turkey’s state-run TPAO company and Brazil’s Petrobras. The latter said last year that it was committing some $300million over two years to its first Black Sea campaign.
TPAO sees the region harbouring as much as 10billion barrels of oil and 1.5trillion cu m of natural gas. Production could start 2017-18, subject to success in drilling.