Libyan Court Suspends Controversial Oil And Gas Deal With Turkey - OILPRICE.com

Jan 11, 2023, 2:30 AM CST
Charles Kennedy

A Libyan court has suspended a deal for offshore oil and gas exploration that Libya and Turkey inked last year, a deal that sparked outrage from neighbors Egypt and Greece.

The deal concerned waters that Libya and Turkey have declared to be theirs but that are disputed by Egypt and Greece, Reuters noted in a report on the news that cited an unnamed source. The Libyan government can appeal the ruling, the source also told Reuters.

Greece’s Permanent Representative at the UN, Maria Theofili described the deal as one “violating the sovereign rights of Greece, is a violation of international law and a deliberate escalation that undermines stability in the region.”

Sisi’s maritime declaration shields Crete - KATHIMERINI

15.DECEMBER.2022 • 12:15
Vassilis Nedos

Despite Ankara’s efforts to normalize relations with Cairo, the Turkish-Libyan maritime memorandum received another blow to its credibility with the presidential decree of Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi declaring the Egypt-Libya maritime border unilaterally with a western limit at the 25th meridian – i.e. even further west than the limit of the August 2020 Greece-Egypt partial demarcation agreement.

The recent developments around Crete serve as a shield for Greece’s rights, as the exploration for hydrocarbons to the southwest of the island at the request of US oil giant ExxonMobil was followed by Sisi’s decree, which transfers Egypt’s claims against Libya further west, dealing another blow to the Turkish-Libyan memorandum. In effect, it makes Tripoli’s desire for exploration south of the eastern part of Crete, where Egypt is now asserting claims, even more difficult.

Although the decree does not reach the median line (as perceived by Greece) leaving room for a future tripartite agreement between Greece, Egypt and Libya, it practically covers even more of Crete against the possibility of Tripoli requesting that exploration be conducted by the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) at a point near the east of the island.

Italy, Cyprus Say Turkey-Libya Maritime Deal 'Unacceptable' - THE NEW YORK TIMES / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jan. 29, 2020

ROME — A maritime border agreement between Turkey and Libya's U.N.-backed government is “unacceptable," violates international law and flouts the sovereign rights of other countries, the foreign ministers of Italy and Cyprus said Wednesday..

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides said in a joint statement after talks in Rome that the deal cannot have any legal impact on other countries.

Turkey says the deal grants its economic rights to a large swath of the east Mediterranean sea and prevents any energy-related projects from moving forward without Ankara's consent.

One such project that Israel, Cyprus and Greece had agreed on earlier this month is an envisioned undersea pipeline (TEKMOR Note: East Med Pipeline) ferrying natural gas discovered in the east Mediterranean to European markets.

Cyprus, Greece and Israel to Sign Pipeline Deal in Early January - HAARETZ

Dec 23, 2019 8:11 PM

The leaders of Cyprus, Greece and Israel plan to sign an agreement January 2 for building an undersea pipeline to bring Israeli and Cypriot natural gas to the European market, the Greek prime minister’s office announced Sunday.

The agreement, which will be signed in Athens by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will be largely symbolic – aimed at helping Cyprus and Greece to confront Turkey over maritime rights.

The announcement of the pipeline agreement comes on the heels of an agreement signed last week between Turkey and Libya delineating exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean Sea that awards Turkey the areas where the projected pipeline is slated to run.

The agreement has elicited protests from eastern Mediterranean countries with gas interests, including Egypt. On Monday, Netanyahu said in a letter to the Greek and Cypriot leaders that the “the gas agreement between Turkey and Libya is not legal – we need to respond and sign the gas pipeline agreement.”

Libya, Turkey demarcation MoUs hinder efforts to settle Libyan crisis, Shoukry says - ENTERPRISE

Sunday, 8 December 2019

Libya and Turkey’s recently-signed border demarcation agreements will hinder efforts to resolve the Libyan crisis and negatively affect the Berlin political process, Foreign Ministry at the Rome Med 2019 – Mediterranean Dialogue on Friday. Shoukry also highlighted the establishment of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, which does not include Turkey nor Libya, as a model for constructive cooperation among Mediterranean countries to serve the objectives of sustainable development. The agreements signed between Turkey and Libya could potentially infringe upon territorial waters claimed by Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece.

French FM backs Egypt: French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian separately called the agreements “illegal” under international law during a phone call with Shoukry, according to a ministry statement.