Türkiye’s fourth drill ship Abdulhamid Han, has started drilling in the Yörükler-1 well in the Mediterranean, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez said via twitter on Wednesday.

The Abdulhamid Han drilling ship was sent off to its first duty location on August 9th, with a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Dönmez.

The ship arrived on site on August 10.

Abdulhamid Han will run its exploratory mission for two months, after which Dönmez promised to publicize any discoveries.​​​​​​​

The country has discovered 540 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the Black Sea.

Türkiye’s other ships, Yavuz and Kanuni, continue drilling operations in the Black Sea.