ISTANBUL/LARNAKA, May 13 (WNM staff) - In the midst of a dispute with Cyprus over the exploitation of a gas field on Monday, Turkey has carried out its "biggest naval manoeuvre ever". According to the Turkish general staff, the military exercise in the Mediterranean, the Aegean and the Black Seas, which lasted almost two weeks, was attended by 131 warships, 57 planes and 33 helicopters. The manoeuvre, which is to last until 25 May, falls into a time of strong tensions with Cyprus.
The EU Member State has reached agreement with several Mediterranean countries on the division of the eastern Mediterranean sea area, where a large gas field was discovered a few years ago. Turkey is not party to this agreement and is not bound by it. At the beginning of May, the Turkish Government announced that it would carry out its own test drilling in the sea area claimed by Cyprus.
The EU and the USA expressed "concern" about the planned test drilling in the "exclusive economic zone of Cyprus". Nicosia has already awarded gas production contracts to international oil companies such as Eni, Total and ExxonMobil. However, Turkey demands that the internationally unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus be involved in the exploitation of the gas field and warns that it will defend "its rights" by all means.
EU member states have called on Ankara to immediately stop its “illegal drilling activities” in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). “I am a Cypriot [on this matter],” EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said at the Sibiu EU summit last week.
Only recently, ExxonMobil discovered huge natural gas reervoirs offshore Cyprus. “These are encouraging results in a frontier exploration area,” said President Steve Greenlee of ExxonMobil Exploration Co., according to Natural Gas Intelligence. “The potential for this newly discovered resource to serve as an energy source for regional and global markets will be evaluated further.”
Glaucus-1 is the second of a two-well drilling program in the block. The first well, Delphyne-1, did not encounter commercial quantities of hydrocarbons.
Block 10 is 635,554 acres (2,572 square kilometers). ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Cyprus (Offshore) Ltd. has a 60% interest, while Qatar Petroleum International Upstream OPC is minority stakeholder.
Cyprus Energy Minister Georgios Lakkotrypis said in February the discovery may lead to even more off the coast of the island nation, which has stated that it wants to take part in becoming an energy source for Europe.
EU member states have called on Ankara to immediately stop its “illegal drilling activities” in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“I am a Cypriot [on this matter],” EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said at the Sibiu EU summit last week, according to Euractiv.