Factbox: Greece’s territorial waters and Turkey - KATHIMERINI

10.11.2018 : 17:35

Angelos Syrigos

Following his resignation from the post of foreign minister, Nikos Kotzias said that Greece was ready to extend its territorial waters in the Ionian Sea to 12 nautical miles. This came as surprise to Greece’s political parties and drew a strong reaction from Turkey, which claimed that any extension of Greece’s territorial waters in the Aegean would be considered a casus belli. Here I would like to examine some of the most important questions related to a possible extension of Greek territorial waters.

What are territorial waters?

Territorial waters (also known as territorial sea) are a belt of sea adjacent to the shores of a state. This zone includes the water column, seabed below and airspace above it. States have full sovereignty in this area. The only restriction to this sovereignty is the right of innocent passage enjoyed by all ships without prior notification of the coastal state. Since the 1970s, all coastal states in the world (except Greece) have expanded their territorial waters to 12 nautical miles. This customary rule is stipulated by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Cyprus issues navtex for ‘Delphini’ target as Exxon’s drill ship set to arrive - CYPRUS MAIL

NOVEMBER 10, 2018 

THE Cyprus government issued a navigational telex (navtex) notification to seafarers on Saturday ahead of the arrival next week of Stena IceMax, a drilling ship commissioned by Exxon Mobil to explore for hydrocarbons in block 10 of Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone.

The drillship is expected to arrive within the next two days in the port of Limassol, with the competent authorities issuing the navtex marine advisory valid until February 25 for the target “Delphini”.

“The drilling rig is expected to arrive within the timeframe set, according to schedule, tomorrow or the day after,” a source told the Cyprus News Agency. According to the same source, “everything proceeds smoothly, according to plan.”

The navtex 376/18 issued by Cyprus at 6.00 am local time (4.00 am GMT), informs mariners about the drilling operations of Stena IceMax at the “Delphini” target. Drilling operations are expected to commence on November 15.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis R. Fannon to visit Israel and Egypt - JERUSALEM POST

An Israeli gas platform is seen in the Mediterranean sea,
some 15 miles west of Ashdod (photo credit AMIR COHEN/ REUTERS)

NOVEMBER 10, 2018 07:38
Hagay Hacohen

US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis R. Fannon will travel to Israel and Egypt, arriving on Sunday and departing on November 20, the US State Department Spokesperson announced Saturday.

Fannon is scheduled to meet government officials and representatives from the private sector to discuss regional cooperation and energy security.

In September, Houston-based Noble Energy Inc., together with Israeli gas operator Delek Drilling and Egyptian partner East Gas, have reached agreements worth approximately $518 million to support the delivery of natural gas from the Leviathan and Tamar gas fields to Egypt.

The agreements represent a significant step toward fulfilling a $15 billion decade-long deal signed in February which will see Noble Energy and Delek Drilling supply 64 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Egypt from the gas fields, located off Israel.

ExxonMobil Could Be In For A Naval Battle - FORBES

Nov 10, 2018, 12:43pm
Antonis Antoniou

As the Stena IceMax — the drillship that will conduct offshore explorations in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on behalf of ExxonMobilXOM -0.02% — approaches its target, anxiety is mounting as to how Turkey will react.

Over the last couple of years, Cyprus has granted specialized companies drilling rights to explore its EEZ, in the hopes of discovering hydrocarbons and, more specifically, natural gas and petroleum. Some of the biggest exploration companies in the world — such as Italy’s ENI, Korea’s KOGAS, France’s Total , and even the U.S.’ Noble Energy NBL -1.41% — expressed interest in this pursuit and received licenses.

Now, ExxonMobil is expected to begin drilling in Block 10 of Cyprus’ EEZ in the coming weeks and Turkey has already warned that it will react to such an action.

Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974, still illegally holds 36% of the country’s landmass (Note: after chasing away the area's 90% majority Christian population & colonizing it since with Anatolian Muslim settlers) and doesn’t recognize its EEZ, even laying claim to parts of it. Turkey claims that parts of Blocks 1, 4, 6 and 7 fall within its own EEZ and that the Turkish Cypriot community can rightfully claim any possible discoveries within Blocks 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 12 and 13. Though Block 10 does not fall within one of the aforementioned areas, Turkey has nevertheless warned that it will “react” to any kind of exploration activity.

East Med pipeline ‘sustainable and competitive’ - IBNA

08-NOV-2018, 09:20

Nefeli Tzanetakou

The implementation of the East Med pipeline project appears to be progressing with the support of Washington, at a crucial time in terms of safeguarding balances in the Eastern Mediterranean.

According to the Cyprus News Agency, the fact that the talks between the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides and US Secretary of State Francis Fannon in Washington focused on Eastern Mediterranean energy prospects demonstrates and confirms the lively interest of the US in developments in the wider region.

As IBNA exclusively revealed, the advantages offered by the strategically important East Med pipeline and the presence of US firm Exxon Mobil in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone are the reasons Washington wants to participate in the next summit between Greece, Cyprus and Israel.

ExxonMobil to expand oil and gas activities in Egypt - ENTERPRISE

Thursday, 8 November 2018

ExxonMobil is looking to shore up its oil and gas activities in Egypt, company President Bryan Milton said during a meeting with Oil Minister Tarek El Molla, according to an Oil Ministry statement (pdf) (Arabic). 

No further details were provided, but the company said earlier this year it is planning to invest 60 mn in Egypt and is particularly interested in opportunities in the gas-rich East Mediterranean.

US and Cyprus sign deal on security cooperation - KATHIMERINI

07.NOV.2018 : 11:04

Cyprus and the United States have agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in the area of security, according to a statement by the Cyprus Foreign Ministry, which said that the two sides have signed a Statement of Intent on security issues.

The agreement refers to issues relating to combating terrorism, strengthening security at sea and borders and promoting regional stability.

This comes as Cyprus Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides visited Washington for a meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday (Video).

Christodoulides also met with Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell and Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis Fannon.

In statements after the meetings at the State Department, Christodoulides said the discussions with the two officials concentrated on three issues.

“First, our bilateral relations and the mutual desire to strengthen bilateral relations at all levels. The statement of intent was signed within this framework, as it sets the outline of cooperation and how we should proceed next,” the minister said.

Jumbo Offshore wins contract from TechnipFMC for Leviathan field - OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY

7 NOVEMBER 2018

Jumbo Offshore has secured a contract from TechnipFMC to deliver transportation and installation services at the Leviathan development, located in the eastern Mediterranean region offshore Israel.

TechnipFMC is working on a project that comprises a subsea production system connecting subsea wells to a fixed platform located 10km off the coast of Israel.

Under the terms of the contract, Jumbo is responsible for lowering a 410t subsea production manifold onto the seabed at a water depth of 1643m.

The company is also required to install various other subsea isolation valves (SSIVs) and valve skids at a water depth of 86m.

“Jumbo will appoint one of her offshore heavy-lift crane vessels (HLCVs) to complete this project in early 2019.”

The scope of the contract also includes transportation of various equipment from the US Gulf Coast to Eastern Mediterranean.

Cypriot Foreign Minister Hosted by Secretary Pompeo - US DEPARTMENT OF STATE

This afternoon, @SecPompeo welcomed Foreign Minister Nikos @Christodulides of #Cyprus to the State Department. @CyprusMFA @USEmbassyCyprus @CyprusinUSA pic.twitter.com/xMco9yEBtb

— Department of State (@StateDept) November 6, 2018

Israel to offer 19 blocks for oil & gas exploration in second offshore bid round - OFFSHORE ENERGY TODAY

5 November 2018

Israel will offer 19 offshore blocks as part of its second offshore bid round to grant exploration licenses for natural gas and oil in Israel’s economic waters in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The upcoming bid round is pursuant to an earlier round which began two years ago and granted six licenses. Some of these are expected to start drilling in the upcoming months, Israel’s Ministry of Energy said on Sunday.

Israel’s Energy Minister, Dr. Yuval Steinitz, said: “It is my pleasure to announce the launch of our new bid round for exploration and production of natural gas reservoirs in the East Mediterranean. This bid is intended to continue the development of the natural gas market in Israel, increase competition by the entry of new international energy companies and broaden Israel’s energy security. These efforts correlate with the progress of the subsea pipeline between Israel and Europe, which will allow us to export the gas to Greece, Italy and the rest of Europe.”

Israel announces new oil and gas exploration round in eastern Mediterranean - REUTERS

NOVEMBER 4, 2018 / 4:32 PMReporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Mark Heinrich

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel will tender off 19 new offshore blocks to oil and gas companies, its energy ministry said on Sunday, hoping to rebound from a disappointing bidding round a year ago.

Israel discovered in 2009 that it had large reserves of natural gas off its Mediterranean coast.

It will publish details of the tender by the end of the month and, about half a year later, choose the winning companies, said Udi Adiri, the ministry’s director general.

Last year’s auction elicited bids from only two groups of companies, and the ministry said it expects more to compete this time as conditions have improved.

In 2017 the energy market was weaker and companies in general were investing less. There was also concern over where to sell any newfound gas, since Israel is a small market.