EU member Cyprus on Friday accused Turkey of defying the 28-member bloc by illegally conducting drilling operations inside the island’s continental shelf which it described as a “severe escalation”.
“Cyprus strongly condemns Turkey’s new attempt to illegally conduct drilling operations in the south-west of the island,” said a government statement.
“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,” it added.
Nicosia said Turkey has sent the drill ship Yavuz within block 7 of its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, this block is licensed to Italy’s Eni and France’s Total to exploit.
Last month the two international energy giants and the Cypriot government signed the exploration license in Nicosia for block 7.
Cyprus argues that the area where the Turkish vessel is operating, is clearly defined under international law as Cypriot territorial waters.
It said block 7 is “already delimited, in accordance with international law”, between the Republic of Cyprus and Egypt, through the 2003 EEZ Delimitation Agreement.
“Block 7 is an exclusive sovereign right of Cyprus and does not affect the rights of any third state, including Turkey,” said Nicosia in the statement.
“This new provocation is exemplary of Turkey’s defiance of the European Union’s and the international community’s repeated calls to cease its illegal activities.”
Nicosia said Turkey’s “utterly provocative and aggressive behaviour” would not deter it from continuing with an expansive energy plan.
“Cyprus will not yield to threats or bullying tactics of an era long gone. Illegality no matter how often repeated does not produce law.”
Cyprus also accused Turkey of putting the “security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean at risk”.
The waters off Cyprus have attracted other international giants such as ExxonMobil and Shell. Sizeable natural gas deposits have been discovered in three areas but yet to be extracted.
Turkey is opposed to Nicosia’s energy exploration plans and wants a say in the development of hydrocarbons in the region.
Ankara also demands that Turkish Cypriots have an equal share of the profits from natural gas but argues this can only happen once a Cyprus solution is found.
Cyprus has pushed ahead with exploring for offshore energy resources despite the collapse in 2017 of talks to end the country's decades-long division.
That has angered neighbouring Turkey, which has had troops stationed in the country since 1974 when it invaded and occupied its northern third in response to a coup sponsored by the military junta then ruling Greece.
Earlier this year, Ankara dispatched two drill ships inside Cyprus’ designated EEZ which has raised tensions.
Washington and Brussels have urged Turkey to withdraw its vessels from Cypriot waters, with the European Union imposing sanctions on Turkey for its confrontation with EU member state Cyprus, a country Ankara does not recognise.
Visiting UK Minister for Europe Christopher Pincher told reporters in Nicosia on Friday: “I made it very clear that Great Britain deplores any drilling in the waters close to Cyprus and supports the right of Cyprus to extract oils in its EEZ.”
“Most importantly that wealth should be extracted for the benefit of all Cypriots on the island,” he added after meeting Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades.
In February, ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum made a “world-class discovery” of natural gas quantities of 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) – the biggest find to date.
Texas-based Noble Energy in 2011 made the first discovery off Cyprus in the Aphrodite block estimated to contain around 4.5 trillion cubic feet of gas – it has yet to be commercialised.
Cyprus aims for natural gas to start flowing to Egypt’s LNG facility in 2025 via pipeline from Aphrodite, therefore generating its first revenue from natural gas in the same year.
