Antonis Antoniou
ExxonMobil XOM +0.56% continues its exploratory offshore drilling in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and — contrary to the Cypriot government’s fears — no Turkish ships appeared on the horizon.
Drillship Stena IceMax entered Block 10 of Cyprus’ EEZ and began drilling a couple of days ago. So far, there has been no actual response from Turkey, even though the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had said that it would “react” to any kind of exploration activity in the Cypriot EEZ.
Turkey has vocally laid claim to parts of Cyprus’ EEZ and even though Block 10 does not fall within one of those areas, Turkey has nevertheless repeatedly warned (or, perhaps, threatened?) that it would react in order to protect the rights of Turkish Cypriots.
But there has been no action by Turkey so far to prevent ExxonMobil’s exploration effort.
On the contrary, Stena IceMax has already begun operations to reach the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea in search of natural gas. According to the local newspaper, Phileleftheros, the drilling rig should reach a depth of 3,000 meters under the surface of the sea. Prospects for the exploration at target Delphyne-1 are quite high and the government of Cyprus anticipates that it will finally discover the necessary quantities of natural gas that will make its resources commercially viable.
Noble Energy NBL -2.18% discovered some significant amounts of natural gas back in 2011 but not enough to be commercially profitable. Since then, four more explorations have been undertaken in the island’s EEZ with most of them yielding negative results. Only one exploration conducted by ENI at the beginning of the year was characterized as “satisfactory” but a confirmatory drilling is still pending.
Everyone is very optimistic about the present exploration being conducted by ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum since almost every one of Cyprus’ neighboring countries has already discovered huge quantities of natural gas in the recent past (very close to the Cypriot EEZ, no less).
Barking up the wrong tree
The first reaction from Turkey came days after the drillship commenced operations and it was a verbal one.
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an announcement warning that such actions in the island’s EEZ could change some sensitive balances regarding the settlement of the “Cyprus problem”.
For those unfamiliar with the region, this is in reference to the enduring “Cyprus problem”, which began with the occupation of Cyprus’ northern territory by Turkey back in 1974, with still no political solution having been found to reunite the country.
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs repeated its stance that natural resources around Cyprus don’t belong solely to Greek Cypriots but to Turkish Cypriots as well. “We have warned the Greek Cypriot administration [Turkey is the only country in the world that doesn’t recognize the Republic of Cyprus] to stop any one-sided explorations for hydrocarbons in the eastern Mediterranean,” the announcement read. In fact, the Turkish ministry hasn’t just “warned” the Cypriot government; it has also warned (now and in the past) companies that cooperate with it, including ExxonMobil, ENI, Total and Noble Energy.
This time, though, the Cypriot government has had a powerful ally on its side: the U.S.
Following a number of actions and statements by government officials, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, Francis Fannon, reiterated during a recent visit to Cyprus that the U.S. government supports Cyprus’ right to develop its natural wealth.
Mr. Fannon added that his country promotes energy developments in the Eastern Mediterranean as a matter of priority. His comments were made on the same day that ExxonMobil and its partner Qatar Petroleum began drilling in Block 10.
Speaking after a meeting with Cyprus’ Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Georgios Lakkotrypis, Mr. Fannon explained that his visit is part of a regional trip to discuss energy development in the wider area.
But it seems that the timing of his trip to Cyprus was anything but coincidental and rather a part of a greater plan to prevent Turkey from taking any extreme measures that wouldn’t allow the Stena IceMax to proceed with drilling operations.
“We continue the long-standing position of the United States that we strongly support the right of the Republic of Cyprus to develop its resources in its EEZ. We are unwavering on that commitment,” said Mr. Fannon in an interview with the Cyprus News Agency on the occasion of his visit to Cyprus last Friday.
At the same time, he said that the U.S. “encourages the two communities to continue to work towards a comprehensive resolution and ensure that any and all proceeds from that mineral wealth are shared equitably.”
Earlier this week, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned once more that, "The reckless behavior of Greece -- supported by European states -- acting together with the Greek Cypriot administration is a danger and above all a threat to themselves." Just one day after Cyprus granted another exploration license jointly to French Total and Italian Eni, Erdogan warned that "we will use our rights under international law and conventions to the end. And we are determined to put in their place anyone who wants to stop us."
On Thursday, Cypriot Ministers of Energy and Foreign Affairs, George Lakkotrypis and Nikos Christodoulides, visited the Stena IceMax. The U.S. ambassador to Cyprus, Cathleen Doherty, was with them as well in another symbolic move that sends strong messages to Turkey.
SOURCE
ExxonMobil XOM +0.56% continues its exploratory offshore drilling in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and — contrary to the Cypriot government’s fears — no Turkish ships appeared on the horizon.
Drillship Stena IceMax entered Block 10 of Cyprus’ EEZ and began drilling a couple of days ago. So far, there has been no actual response from Turkey, even though the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had said that it would “react” to any kind of exploration activity in the Cypriot EEZ.
Turkey has vocally laid claim to parts of Cyprus’ EEZ and even though Block 10 does not fall within one of those areas, Turkey has nevertheless repeatedly warned (or, perhaps, threatened?) that it would react in order to protect the rights of Turkish Cypriots.
But there has been no action by Turkey so far to prevent ExxonMobil’s exploration effort.
On the contrary, Stena IceMax has already begun operations to reach the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea in search of natural gas. According to the local newspaper, Phileleftheros, the drilling rig should reach a depth of 3,000 meters under the surface of the sea. Prospects for the exploration at target Delphyne-1 are quite high and the government of Cyprus anticipates that it will finally discover the necessary quantities of natural gas that will make its resources commercially viable.
Noble Energy NBL -2.18% discovered some significant amounts of natural gas back in 2011 but not enough to be commercially profitable. Since then, four more explorations have been undertaken in the island’s EEZ with most of them yielding negative results. Only one exploration conducted by ENI at the beginning of the year was characterized as “satisfactory” but a confirmatory drilling is still pending.
Everyone is very optimistic about the present exploration being conducted by ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum since almost every one of Cyprus’ neighboring countries has already discovered huge quantities of natural gas in the recent past (very close to the Cypriot EEZ, no less).
Barking up the wrong tree
The first reaction from Turkey came days after the drillship commenced operations and it was a verbal one.
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an announcement warning that such actions in the island’s EEZ could change some sensitive balances regarding the settlement of the “Cyprus problem”.
For those unfamiliar with the region, this is in reference to the enduring “Cyprus problem”, which began with the occupation of Cyprus’ northern territory by Turkey back in 1974, with still no political solution having been found to reunite the country.
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs repeated its stance that natural resources around Cyprus don’t belong solely to Greek Cypriots but to Turkish Cypriots as well. “We have warned the Greek Cypriot administration [Turkey is the only country in the world that doesn’t recognize the Republic of Cyprus] to stop any one-sided explorations for hydrocarbons in the eastern Mediterranean,” the announcement read. In fact, the Turkish ministry hasn’t just “warned” the Cypriot government; it has also warned (now and in the past) companies that cooperate with it, including ExxonMobil, ENI, Total and Noble Energy.
This time, though, the Cypriot government has had a powerful ally on its side: the U.S.
Following a number of actions and statements by government officials, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, Francis Fannon, reiterated during a recent visit to Cyprus that the U.S. government supports Cyprus’ right to develop its natural wealth.
Mr. Fannon added that his country promotes energy developments in the Eastern Mediterranean as a matter of priority. His comments were made on the same day that ExxonMobil and its partner Qatar Petroleum began drilling in Block 10.
Speaking after a meeting with Cyprus’ Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Georgios Lakkotrypis, Mr. Fannon explained that his visit is part of a regional trip to discuss energy development in the wider area.
But it seems that the timing of his trip to Cyprus was anything but coincidental and rather a part of a greater plan to prevent Turkey from taking any extreme measures that wouldn’t allow the Stena IceMax to proceed with drilling operations.
“We continue the long-standing position of the United States that we strongly support the right of the Republic of Cyprus to develop its resources in its EEZ. We are unwavering on that commitment,” said Mr. Fannon in an interview with the Cyprus News Agency on the occasion of his visit to Cyprus last Friday.
At the same time, he said that the U.S. “encourages the two communities to continue to work towards a comprehensive resolution and ensure that any and all proceeds from that mineral wealth are shared equitably.”
Earlier this week, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned once more that, "The reckless behavior of Greece -- supported by European states -- acting together with the Greek Cypriot administration is a danger and above all a threat to themselves." Just one day after Cyprus granted another exploration license jointly to French Total and Italian Eni, Erdogan warned that "we will use our rights under international law and conventions to the end. And we are determined to put in their place anyone who wants to stop us."
On Thursday, Cypriot Ministers of Energy and Foreign Affairs, George Lakkotrypis and Nikos Christodoulides, visited the Stena IceMax. The U.S. ambassador to Cyprus, Cathleen Doherty, was with them as well in another symbolic move that sends strong messages to Turkey.
SOURCE
