Turkey announced on Sunday that it had sent its first deep-sea oil drilling vessel to Somalia on its maiden mission.

Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alpaslan Bayraktar called the move historic.

The vessel is expected to arrive in Mogadishu after a 45-day journey and begin drilling.

Turkey and Somalia agreed in 2014 to explore for oil and gas in the sea and on the coast.

The number of Turkish oil drilling vessels now stands at six, including the one sent, the minister said, according to the Turkish news agency Anadolu.

He added that Turkey is the world's fourth largest offshore oil producer.

Since the new Gregorian year, the country has signed strategic agreements with US and UK companies engaged in gas and oil exploration.