Turkey on Tuesday upped the ante over the island’s gas search after declaring it will start drilling off Cyprus if companies like US giant ExxonMobil plan to do the same in the autumn.
Ankara is opposed to Nicosia’s energy search in the East Mediterranean and is ready to play regional brinkmanship with tension-rising rhetoric.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu issued a clear message on Cyprus’ energy search saying: “We also have our platforms and we will start drilling, if they start in the autumn, we will also start”.
This could be viewed a veiled threat to discourage ExxonMobil from conducting scheduled exploration off Cyprus later in the year.
Cavusoglu told Sabbah daily on Tuesday: “We prevented ENI. In the last three years, we have told the Italians and ENI ‘do not enter this business, we will not allow this if the rights of the Turkish side are not guaranteed’,”.
He added: “Of course, it is not right to continuously place obstacles. If the Greek Cypriot side takes unilateral steps, then this time we will also start drilling there”.
He suggested Ankara is taking a much tougher stance on the energy issue in order, as Turkey argues, to protect the rights of the Turkish Cypriots.
“We have also said that from now on our stance will be different on the hydrocarbons issue. We will not let them seize the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people.”
The comments come two days after Nicosia said it is doing everything necessary to ensure that US energy colossus, ExxonMobil’s planned search for oil and gas off Cyprus runs smoothly despite Turkish threats.
Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis on Sunday said developments in UN-backed Cyprus talks should not affect the government’s energy programme in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
ExxonMobil, with Qatar Petroleum, has an exploration license for block 10, will conduct two exploratory drills in the last three months of the year, Lakkotrypis told reporters.
“The procedures for ExxonMobil to obtain the necessary permits are proceeding as planned and two drill wells will be carried out in the last three months,” Lakkotrypis did not elaborate on what those permits were.
“What’s important is that we progress according to our timeframe and planning,” he added.
An ExxonMobil drillship is expected to arrive off Cyprus in September.
Asked about reports in daily Phileleftheros that US planes will discretely monitor the drilling activity, Lakkotrypis didn’t deny it but said: “We take all necessary measures so that the two drills will proceed without any unforeseen developments.”
He added: “That is why you see that we are diplomatically more active as the time for these drills gets closer.
In February, Turkish warships blocked a drillship commissioned by Italian energy company ENI, from drilling in block 3 of Cyprus` EEZ.
Cyprus Problem
Ankara has consistently warned foreign companies against drilling offshore Cyprus while the island’s division is unsolved.
Lakkotrypis said the two issues should not be linked.
“We continue with our plans, which cannot be changed because of contractual obligations and, as the President of the Republic said a few days ago, under no circumstances should developments in the Cyprus problem affect our energy programme.”
A UN envoy departed the island on Tuesday after meeting both Cypriot leaders to see if the ground is ripe to launch a new round of peace talks after the previous effort collapsed in acrimony at a Swiss summit in July 2017.
President Nicos Anastasiades said he told UN envoy Jane Holl Lute that he was ready to resume the peace process from where it left off at Crans-Montana a year ago.
So far Cyprus has carried out three licensing rounds, awarding exploration licences for eight of its offshore blocks and Lakkotrypis didn’t rule another one in the future.
Turkey, which occupies 37% of the island’s territory, does not recognise the Republic of Cyprus’ EEZ and claims that the island’s resources also belong to the Turkish Cypriots.
The Cyprus government agrees that energy wealth will be shared between all Cypriots once a solution is reached but the island’s division should not impede its sovereign right to search for oil and gas.
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 is hoping top sell Aphrodite gas to energy-hungry Egypt and Nicosia is also in discussion with Cairo to build a direct submarine natural gas pipeline to an LNG plant in Egypt.
The government is optimistic that larger quantities of gas will be found as the blocks in its EEZ reflect similar geological structures to those in the nearby giant Zohr gas field in Egyptian.
