Cyprus ready to accept bids for 11 LNG exploration blocks

Cyprus is ready to launch its first international offshore bidding round for 11 southern exploration blocks for liquefied natural gas (LNG) next week, despite Turkey’s efforts to create tension in the area with war games in an effort to fend off potential bidders for the project.

The first round for the submission of applications for tenders for research and hydrocarbon exploitation will begin on February 15 and end on July 16. The whole procedure is expected to be concluded by Autumn.

The government of Cyprus has rejected protests by Turkey over the maritime economic zone agreement signed with Lebanon last month to delineate the exploration borders of each country.

A similar agreement was signed with Egypt two years ago that also irked Ankara that claims Cyprus cannot sign any natural resources agreement without the consent of Turkey (as a guarantor of the 1960 independence) nor without the consent or the Turkish Cypriot community in the north, which Turkey regards as “isolated” by the Greek Cypriot government.

 

Law of the Sea

 

Foreign Minister George Lillikas said on Tuesday that the Republic of Cyprus is bound only by the international convention for the Law of the Sea.

Lillikas was commenting on a statement by State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack, during Monday’s briefing in Washington, that the issue of petroleum reserves exploitation in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Cyprus “gets very quickly into complicated issues related to the Law of the Sea.”

“There are international conventions for the Law of Sea, which Cyprus has signed along with a total of 146 countries and Turkey has not signed them,” Lillikas said, adding that Cyprus is bound by the Convention of the Law of the Sea and the obligations the convention provides for.

“We have implemented precisely the convention, and the agreements we signed are in full harmony with the international convention,” he added.

According to Lillikas, each country has the right to perform studies on international or other issues regarding other countries. He added however that this “does not mean that the studies lead to or create obligations or commitments of the country concerned.”

Lillikas also that he was not aware of information whether the companies that expressed interest in the possible oil reserves in Cyprus‘ territorial waters have withdrawn their interest after Turkish protests.

“What I am aware of is that there is great interest on behalf of petroleum companies,” he added.

Invited to comment on McCormack’s statement that the State Department has no recommendations as to whether American companies should participate in the bidding process, Lillikas said that the US is a democratic country with a free market economy, in which “the governments do not decide on behalf of the companies.”

 

US: Cyprus oil controversy points to need for settlement

 

In a statement outlining the US position regarding oil exploration in the continental shelf off Cyprus, McCormack had said that the US policy has not changed, noting that “a final settlement will enable all Cypriots to benefit from the island’s resources”.

“Any dispute here is between the Republic of Cyprus, those countries that have signed agreements with Cyprus and Turkey. The United States is not a party to these agreements. The State Department has no recommendations as to whether American companies should participate in the bidding process”.

 

Egypt and Lebanon stand firm

 

Egypt and Lebanon have not reneged on the agreements they have signed with the Republic of Cyprus for research and hydrocarbon exploitation in the sea area of Cyprus, said government spokesman Christodoulos Pashiardis.

Pashiardis said that “there is no backing – out on behalf of Egypt or Lebanon regarding the agreements we have signed with these countries”.

In statements during his daily briefing, Pashiardis said that if the pseudostate in Turkish occupied Cyprus, “which has no territorial waters or continental shelf, begins to exploit any reserves, this act will constitute another illegality that will be added to other such illegalities, which have been committed so far”.

“The territorial waters and the continental shelf belong to the legal Republic of Cyprus”, he stressed.

Regarding the European Union’s stance on the issue, he described it as positive, since the EU “refers to the respect of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus and to its inalienable right to sign agreements with any state on any issue”.