Eni-Total consortium starts exploratory gas drilling off Cyprus - REUTERS

May 23, 2022, 6:09 PM GMT+3

NICOSIA, May 23 (Reuters) - Italy's Eni (ENI.MI) and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) of France began drilling an exploration gas well off the coast of Cyprus on Monday, the island's energy ministry said.

The Tungsten Explorer drillship arrived on location south-west of the island on Monday and started drilling work on the 'Cronos-1' prospect, the ministry said.

Eni Cyprus and TotalEnergies EP Cyprus BV, the local units of the two energy majors, collaborate on the project. Eni is operator of the offshore area known as Block 6, with a 50% participation interest. Total has the remaining 50%.

In February 2018 they reported a gas discovery at the Calypso well, another area of the same block.

Cyprus's offshore exploration programme has faced strong objections from Turkey. The island was divided after a 1974 Turkish invasion, with overlapping claims of jurisdiction extending from land to the sea since.

Reporting by Michele Kambas Editing by David Goodman

Turkey complains to UN over Cyprus gas moves - KATHIMERINI

31.12.2021 • 11:59
Vassilis Nedos

Turkey has sent a letter of complaint to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres taking issue with Cyprus’ recent decision to grant natural gas exploration rights to the ExxonMobil/Qatar Petroleum consortium in Block 5 of its exclusive economic zone and to move ahead with exploratory drilling in Block 10.

Note: Turkey must be told to address the rights of its 20+ million Kurdish community before preaching and threatening Cypriots about their 15% minority community.

In the letter, dated December 20, Turkey’s permanent representative to the UN, Feridun Sinirlioglu, describes Cyprus’ decision for Block 10 as “another example among the many escalatory steps jeopardizing peace and stability.” He also stresses the determination of Turkey and the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus to protect their legal rights and interests against such “unilateral acts and provocations.”

With regard to Block 5, Sinirlioglu claims the deal violates Turkey’s rights, adding that Turkey “will not allow any unauthorized hydrocarbon activity within its continental shelf.”

EU imposes sanctions on Turkish energy officials - KATHIMERINI

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2020 - 21:47

The European Union has imposed sanctions on two high-ranking officials from the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) in connection with Turkey's illegal drilling activities in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone, it emerged on Thursday.

The restrictive measures to be imposed on Mehmet Ferruh Akalin and Ali Coscun Namoglu consist of a ban on travel to the EU and an asset freeze, the Cyprus Mail reported. Moreover, EU persons and entities are not permitted to make funds available to the two individuals, it said.

The decision was made public on Thursday in the EU’s Official Journal which referred to Akalin as Vice-President and member of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) and head of TPAO’s exploration, research and development and information technologies departments and to Namoglu as TPAO’s deputy director of exploration involved in planning and overseeing TPAO’s offshore hydrocarbon exploration activities.

Cyprus President: Gas Drilling Won't Stop for Turkey Dispute - NEW YORK TIMES / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Feb. 9, 2020

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus won't put its exploratory gas drilling plans on hold despite Turkey's attempt to force the east Mediterranean island nation to halt its activities by conducting its own gas search in Cypriot waters, the president of Cyprus said Sunday.

President Nicos Anastasiades said pausing drilling in the face of Turkish pressure would be tantamount to Cyprus abrogating its sovereign rights.

Anastasiades said he was ready to engage with Turkey on charting a course to a deal that would reunify Cyprus, which has been divided into ethnically Greek and Turkish areas since the 1970s.

But that won't happen if Turkey sets preconditions such as the suspension of offshore drilling for such peace talks to take place, he said.

Turkish offshore gas deal with Libya upsets Mediterranean boundaries - WORLD OIL / BLOOMBERG

Turkey's claimed EEZ in darker blue; in brown the illegal agreement

6 DEC 2019

Selcan Hacaoglu, Firat Kozok

ANKARA (Bloomberg) - Turkey and Libya officially approved a contentious maritime deal that may fuel an energy showdown in the gas-rich waters of the eastern Mediterranean, where both countries are at odds with Greece.

The Nov. 27 preliminary agreement demarcates an 18.6-nautical mile (35-kilometer) line that will form the maritime boundary separating what will be the two countries’ respective exclusive economic zones. Libya’s presidential council and Turkey’s parliament approved the memorandum of understanding, Anadolu Agency said Friday. It is now expected to be filed with the United Nations.

“This agreement also amounts to a political message that Turkey can’t be sidelined in the eastern Mediterranean and nothing can be really achieved in the region without Turkey’s participation,” Cagatay Erciyes, a senior foreign ministry official in charge of maritime and aviation boundary affairs, said on Thursday.

Cyprus petitions The Hague to safeguard offshore rights - REUTERS

DECEMBER 5, 2019 / 10:50 AM

ATHENS (Reuters) - Cyprus has petitioned the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to safeguard its offshore mineral rights, its president said on Thursday, upping the ante with neighbor Turkey which disputes its claims.

Cyprus’s internationally recognized government discovered offshore gas in 2011 but has been at loggerheads with Turkey over maritime zones around the island, where it has granted licenses to multinational companies for oil and gas research.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said Cyprus is committed to protecting its sovereign rights with every legal means possible.

“Our recourse to The Hague has that very purpose,” he told journalists in Nicosia.

Announcement by the Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus on the illegal activities of Turkey within Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone - REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS

04-10-2019 08:45

The Government of the Republic of Cyprus strongly condemns Turkey’s new attempt to illegally conduct drilling operations in the south-west of the island, within Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf. The new planned drilling, this time round in a duly licensed block, constitutes a further severe escalation of Turkey’s continued violations of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as well as customary International Law.

In flagrant violation of international law, Turkey has chosen to conduct a drilling operation within offshore exploration Block 7, which was licensed by the Government of Cyprus to European companies, and lies within the EEZ/continental shelf of Cyprus, already delimited, in accordance with international law, between the relevant opposite coastal states, namely the Republic of Cyprus and the Arab Republic of Egypt, by means of the 2003 EEZ Delimitation Agreement. The hydrocarbons exploration and/or exploitation of the exploration Block 7 is an exclusive sovereign right of Cyprus and does not affect the rights of any third state, including Turkey.

U.S. says Turkey's exploration attempt in Cypriot waters discussed at Egypt gas forum - NASDAQ / REUTERS

Rick Perry meeting his Egyptian counterpart Tarek El-Molla 

July 25, 2019, 12:34:00 PM EDT

Cairo, July 25 (Reuters) - U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry told reporters on Thursday that countries participating in a gas forum in Egypt have discussed Turkey's exploration attempt in Cypriot territorial waters.

Perry, who was speaking on the sidelines of The Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum in Cairo, did not elaborate. The United Sates participates in the forum as an observer.

EU member Cyprus has discovered natural gas in areas off the south of the island, though nothing has been extracted. Turkey disputes the rights of Cyprus to explore for gas, sending drill ships of its own to stake a claim around the island.

Nicosia rejects the claim, saying that the assertion is not only inconsistent with international law, but that Turkey would not accept any international dispute settlement mechanism where its claims could be put to the test.

Cyprus was divided in 1974 after a Turkish invasion triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup. Several peacemaking efforts have failed and the discovery of offshore resources has complicated the negotiations.

EastMed gas: Paving the way for a new geopolitical era? - DW

24.JUNE.2019

Sergio Matalucci

The East Mediterranean gas project is often described as an explosive geopolitical initiative that's not without a number of hidden agendas. Sergio Matalucci looks at what's behind the current debates in the region.

Opening the newspapers in Cyprus these days, gas developments pop out as a priority issue. It is one of the most discussed topics in the media and by the local population. There are a number of reasons for this — on economic, political and security levels.

On June 5, the Cypriot government said it has reached a production sharing agreement (PSA) for the development of the Aphrodite field, claimed to be worth a staggering $9.5 billion (€8.35 billion), which is over $11,000 per citizen.

"Enough deals with other countries are marginalizing Turkey from the eastern Mediterranean. They are legal, unlike Turkish actions, but because of Turkey's reactions tensions arise," Zenonas Tziarras, a researcher with the Peace Research Institute Oslo, told DW from his office in Nicosia, located less than 200 meters (656 feet) from the Ledras-Lokmaci checkpoint, which divides the northern and southern parts of the city.

"Cypriot people need hope because they feel weak. They don't have the means to react to Turkish actions or to the results of the 1974 invasion. The natural gas and regional synergies provide some of that hope," added Tziarras.

Presentation by Ambassador Tasos Tzionis, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to Ambassadors of EU Member States accredited to Cyprus, regarding recent developments in the continental shelf/EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus (31.5.2019) - REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS

Gas for Peace - FOREIGN POLICY

MAY 28, 2019, 8:52 PM

MICHA'EL TANCHUM

A virtual gas hub could create real cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The strategic equilibrium that has kept the Eastern Mediterranean relatively calm for the past few years may be about to tip. On May 3, Turkey announced that it would commence natural gas drilling operations off the southern coast of Cyprus, in the exclusive economic zone claimed by the internationally recognized government in Greek-dominated south Cyprus. Ankara argues that it is defending the rights of Turkish Cypriots in the northern half of the ethnically divided island who are the legal co-owners of the island’s natural gas but are precluded from participating in its development. On May 12, Turkey doubled down and announced that it would send a second drill ship into Cypriot waters.

Turkey’s brinkmanship comes in response to attempts by Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, and Israel to create a regional energy architecture that will exclude Turkey from the marketing of Eastern Mediterranean natural gas. For example, in 2017 and early 2018, Egypt and Cyprus were in talks about a deal to sell gas from the Eastern Mediterranean to Europe using Egypt’s liquified natural gas plants—which would ensure that the region’s offshore gas bypasses Turkey’s pipelines en route to European Union markets. In February 2018, the Italian energy giant Eni, which in 2015 had discovered Egypt’s massive Zohr natural gas field adjacent to Cypriot territorial waters, announced a significant gas find in Cyprus’s nearby Calypso field.

TEKMOR Note: A virtual hub is a great idea. The most logical place for such a hub is Cyprus indeed. However, placing it in a stretch of land that symbolizes Turkey's invasion, ethnic cleansing & division amounts to nothing less than a Chamberlainian move to appease the beast (not that it would be enough either); the author might as well propose to allow Turkey to get just half the F-35s along with the Russian S-400s. More courageous actions are needed to defend western interests which clearly lie along the Israel, Egypt, Cyprus, Greece axis. 

Minister: Gas drilling at 8 sites off Cyprus over 24 months - THE WASHINGTON POST / ASSOCIATED PRESS

E&P companies with rights/participation in Cyprus' EEZ

May 21 at 4:10 PM

LIMASSOL, Cyprus — Cyprus’ energy minister says energy companies will drill in search of natural gas in waters off the east Mediterranean island nation’s southern coast at eight separate sites over the next two years.

Georgios Lakkotrypis said Tuesday that exploratory drilling would take place at six of those sites, while the remaining two would be to confirm gas deposits already discovered there.

Lakkotrypis didn’t specify the exact locations where the drilling would take place. He said that drilling would start at the end of this year or early 2020.

Energy companies including ExxonMobil, Total and Eni are licensed to conduct a hydrocarbons search off Cyprus. Gas has been discovered at three locations.

Cyprus accuses Turkey of violating its sovereign rights by attempting to drill in waters where it has exclusive economic rights.

Lakkotrypis: Cyprus ‘ready for all scenarios’ - KATHIMERINI

15.05.2019 : 18:49
Katerina Sokou

‘We hope that the energy developments in the region, and in Cyprus in particular, will be an incentive for Turkey to return to the negotiating table and help solve the Cyprus problem,’ Yiorgos Lakkotrypis told Kathimerini in an interview.

As Turkey raises the stakes in the Eastern Mediterranean with violations and threats of drilling in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the Cypriot minister of energy, commerce, industry and tourism notes that “the best response is for us to continue to implement our energy strategy unfettered.”

Indeed, last weekend Yiorgos Lakkotrypis confirmed that the Republic of Cyprus is close to agreement with the Total-ENI joint venture for offshore drilling in another area. In an exclusive interview with Kathimerini, Lakkotrypis focused on the merits of regional partnerships such as the East Med Gas Forum and the role of the European Union and the United States in ensuring stability for investors. As for the Turkish claims, he stressed that Cyprus “is ready for all scenarios” but added that “we need to avoid playing the destabilization game that Turkey is pursuing.”

Erdogan Crashes the Mediterranean Gas Party - HAARETZ

May 08, 2019 7:16 PM
David Rosenberg 

Last week Turkey sparked another crisis by starting drilling in Cypriot waters. That’s a problem not just for Cyprus but for Israel, too

Even the most avid Erdogan watcher has to work hard up with all the crises the Turkish leader has wrought. This week the No. 1 crisis was election officials caving in to his demand for new elections in Istanbul. There are also the crisis over Turkey’s buying Russian S-400 missiles, the simmering war in the Syrian province of Idlib and, of course, the collapse of the Turkish economy.

If that isn’t enough, add a crisis largely playing out off center stage, but which deserves a lot more attention. That’s because it threatens to upset all the plans Israel, Egypt and Cyprus have for exploiting the vast natural gas resources of the Eastern Mediterranean.

The latest installment of the gas crisis started last Friday when Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said the Turkish seismic research vessel Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa would be drilling for oil and gas “in areas of Turkey’s continental shelf.”

So, finally Turkey is joining the East Med gas party? Not exactly. It’s more like crashing the party: The ship is drilling deep inside Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone.

US strongly discourages any activity that could escalate tensions - CYPRUS MAIL

US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis Fannon
with Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis

MAY 3, 2019 

Assistant Secretary for the bureau of energy resources in the US Department of State Francis Fannon has said that the US was strongly discouraging any activity that could escalate tensions in the region.

He was commenting on the Turkish threats over its planned drilling activity within Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Energy diplomacy and the new geopolitical landscape in the Eastern Mediterranean, coupled with the transformation of the region into an energy hub, were the topics of the last panel of the EastMed-New York Investment Summit organised by The Economist.

Answering questions, Fannon reiterated the long-standing US position that the US recognises Cyprus`s right to develop its resources within its EEZ and that resources should be distributed fairly within the framework of an overall solution to the Cyprus problem. He added that the US was considering energy as a catalyst for dialogue.

Natural gas should be shared equitably in context of solution- U.S. ambassador - IN-CYPRUS

March 18, 2019 at 1:19pm
Edited by Stelios Marathovouniotis

Cyprus’ natural gas resources should be shared equitably between Turkish and Greek Cypriots in the context of an overall settlement, U.S. ambassador to Cyprus, Judith Garber said on Monday.

Garber made these statements after presenting her credentials to President Anastasiades after assuming her duties.

“The new energy discoveries come with great promise and equally great responsibility. The United States has consistently recognized the right of the Republic of Cyprus to develop the resources in its Exclusive Economic Zone. We continue to believe these resources should be equitably shared between both communities in the context of an overall settlement,” Garber said.

These finds should lead to the greater prosperity and stability of the entire region and help diversify Europe’s energy supply, she added.

She described Cyprus as a valued friend and an important partner in a critical region.

Cyprus: likely gas field find raises prospect of tension with Turkey - THE GUARDIAN

A drillship off the coast of Limassol, Cyprus

Helena Smith

Nicosia, Mon 25 Feb 2019 12.07 GMT

Expected announcement by ExxonMobil of discovery off island’s south coast seen as potential game changer

Tensions between Cyprus and Turkey over energy could soon come to a head, with ExxonMobil apparently poised to announce a significant natural gas find off the divided island’s southern coast.

After more than three months of deep-water exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, the US firm is expected to unveil findings this week in what is being described as a seminal moment in the race to tap potentially profitable underwater resources.

TEKMOR VIEW: A modern David - Goliath story is unfolding. 

Summit Declaration of the Southern European Union Countries - REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS

Nicosia, 29 January 2019 

1.We, the Heads of State or Government of Cyprus, France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Malta, and Spain, have convened in Nicosia for the fifth Summit of the Southern European Union Countries.

2.Following our last Summit in Rome, we gathered today to reaffirm our profound commitment to the European project and our common values, such as the rule of law, freedom, democracy, human rights and solidarity and to address multiple challenges through continuous display of solidarity and collective responses at the EU level. We reaffirm our strong belief that, building our common European project upon a perspective for the Mediterranean as a region of peace, stability and prosperity, is in the interest of Europe as a whole.

3.Convinced that a strong and united European Union is the best way forward, we are determined to contribute constructively to the debate on our shared future. At the Sibiu Informal Summit, on 9 May 2019, we intend to provide guidance for the new legislative cycle and contribute to the Strategic Agenda for 2019-2024. We also anticipate a renewed commitment to a modernised EU that delivers on the issues that really matter to its citizens. We have paid close attention to the results of our intensive cycle of Citizens' Dialogues and Citizens' Consultations; in our work on the next Strategic Agenda, we will make our utmost in providing new and appropriate ways of engaging citizens and responding to their legitimate concerns.

Cyprus: US to lift Cyprus arms embargo in security boost - THE REPUBLIC / AP

JAN/18/19 3:26 PM
Menelaos Hadjicostis

NICOSIA, Cyprus — The U.S. will soon start lifting a decades-old arms embargo on Cyprus because Washington acknowledges the Mediterranean island nation’s contribution to bolstering regional stability and security, the Cypriot foreign minister said Friday.

Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said that Washington sees the “added value” of allowing Cyprus to acquire military equipment that would help enhance its capabilities to boost regional security.

The embargo was imposed in 1987 with the aim of preventing an arms buildup that would hamper diplomatic efforts to reunify divided Cyprus. The island was split along ethnic lines in 1974 when Turkey invaded in the wake of a coup aimed at union with Greece.

Christodoulides said the process to lift the embargo has been set in motion in the U.S. Congress, reflecting a “positive shift” in that Washington no longer views Cyprus solely as an unsettled conflict of ethnic division.

“This is proof, if you like, of the recognition by the U.S. administration of the positive role that Cyprus plays as a pillar of stability and security in the broader region,” Christodoulides told The Associated Press.

The EastMed Pipeline Project in Perspective - GLOBAL RISK INSIGHTS

January 6, 2019
Ezra Friedman

The EastMed gas pipeline between Cyprus, Greece and Israel will revolutionise the economies and geo-politics of the region. The project comes from an emerging alliance between the three countries who must move forward cautiously in the face of neighbouring States’ opposition.

Eastern Mediterranean: the Bigger Picture

On December 20th, the Prime Ministers of Cyprus, Greece and Israel converged on the southern Israeli city of Beersheba. All three parties publicly committed to signing a high-level agreement in the near future. Such an agreement would solidify one of the longest and deepest underwater gas pipeline in the world.

It is expected to deliver approximately 10 billion cubic meters (BCM) of natural gas to the European Union (EU) through Greece and Italy. The EU is keen to support the project and diversify its natural gas imports away from the heavily sanctioned Russian Federation and declining North Sea gas production. The EastMed project would fulfil roughly 10-15% the EU’s projected natural gas needs. The United States is also supporting the project as it sees the growing trilateral alliance as a bulwark of democracy and stability in a largely authoritarian and war-torn region.