Can't get enough of oil wells

İlayda Sorku

Çalık Petrol, a subsidiary of Çalık Holding—known for its close ties to the government and the brutal murder of worker Erol Eğrek, who was beaten to death by the company’s security guards—has moved forward with new oil drilling and extraction projects in Mardin and Diyarbakır. Progress has been made in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) processes for the three projects the company plans to carry out in Mardin’s Savur district and the Bismil and Çınar districts of Diyarbakır.

The Ministry of Environment has granted approval for the Batı Çalıktepe-5 Location Oil Exploration project planned in the İşgören neighbourhood of Savur, Mardin. It was stated that the drilling depth for the planned oil well in the region would reach up to 2,200 metres.

The project site is designated as agricultural land in the environmental planning scheme. The site, situated 500 metres from the nearest settlement, is adjacent to a cotton warehouse used for agricultural purposes, whilst a similar facility is located approximately 570 metres to the north-west. The project report also highlights the risk of fire and explosion due to the chemicals and fuels used.

LEAKAGE RISK

The company also initiated the EIA process on 6 April for two separate projects in Diyarbakır. The first of these was the Çöltepe-1 and Çöltepe-2 Location Oil Exploration Project planned in the village of Gundiabdi, within the district of Bismil. The area’s environmental master plan designated the site as agricultural land, an irrigation area, the maximum water level of a reservoir, and a natural gas pipeline corridor. The project report noted risks of chemical and fuel leaks, drilling mud spills, and groundwater contamination. It was noted that drilling activities would result in toxic drilling mud and waste water. Furthermore, attention was drawn to the fact that the Çelebiyan Stream is situated just 75 metres from the project site.

The second project in Diyarbakır is the Meydanköy-2 Location Crude Oil Exploration, Extraction and Storage Project, planned in the village of Meydan, which is part of Çınar. It was stated in the application file for the project, planned on agricultural and irrigation land, that there is a risk of the chemicals used and the crude oil to be stored leaking into soil and water sources. It was stated that 4.5 kilograms of explosives would be used during well completion operations.

950 BARRELS PER DAY

Agit Özdemir from the Mardin Environmental Platform stated that the new projects form part of the company’s long-term and extensive activities in the region. “The company has been acquiring exploration and production licences in South-Eastern Anatolia since 2006,” said Özdemir, adding, “It currently produces approximately 950 barrels per day from five wells in the Western Çalıktepe and Southern Çalıktepe fields between Diyarbakır and Mardin. “The company has not limited itself to domestic capital alone but has established strategic partnerships with the Canadian firm Anatolia and the American firm High Power Petroleum. The oil exploration process in the region should be viewed as a joint endeavour involving both national and international capital,” he said.

Özdemir, noting that agricultural irrigation in the İşgören neighbourhood where the project is planned is supplied by groundwater, said, “Consequently, the implementation of the Batı Çalıktepe-5 project on agricultural land directly threatens not only the soil but also drinking and irrigation water, and thus food security.”

FORCING MIGRATION

“The pollution caused by oil drilling is not limited to the wellsite alone,” said Özdemir, concluding: “Hazardous chemicals, primarily caustic soda, are used during the drilling process; meanwhile, the blasting methods employed underground directly threaten the groundwater reserves.

Oil projects are destroying agriculture and livestock farming in the region. Drilling sites established on prime agricultural land and pasture areas are ruining the livelihoods of farmers and villagers who depend on livestock farming. The local population is being forced to migrate to cities, severed from rural production, a situation that is permanently disrupting the rural-urban balance. Whilst companies expand their operations in the region, the local population is losing their land, water resources and livelihoods. Ecological destruction and economic impoverishment are intertwined.”

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Petrol kuyusuna doyamadı, published in BirGün newspaper on May 4, 2026.