site.bta Oil Drilling Rig in Turkiye Named after Naim Suleymanoglu

One of Turkiye’s two newest oil drilling rigs, located in Sirnak near the country’s border with Syria and Iraq, was named after Bulgarian-Turkish weightlifting legend and Olympic champion Naim Suleymanoglu, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on the NSosyal social network. The rig began operating on Wednesday. The second rig was named after Seyit Onbasi, a soldier famed for sinking a British ship off Canakkale during World War I.

The new rigs replace older installations as part of efforts to modernize the country’s energy infrastructure, with universities and experts from multiple fields contributing to their development. According to state broadcaster TRT Haber, each rig is capable of drilling to a depth of 5,000 metres and stands 43.2 metres tall.

Bayraktar explained that the names were chosen to symbolize strength, determination, and national pride. “Naim Suleymanoglu is a man of records and a symbol of local strength, while Seyit Onbasi represents the rebirth of our nation from the ashes,” his post read.