Tag: oil and gas exploration

Is It A Petrol Crisis Or A Trick For Sovereignty

Exclusive Economic Zone of Turkey by Ata ATUN

The Greek Cypriot Administration (GCA), finally managed to convey the artificially created petrol crisis based on the hydrocarbon exploration in her so called “Exclusive Economic Zone” in to the EU and European Parliament.

Actually this was the target of the GCA, to create a dispute with Turkey and push Europe as a whole to deal with political issues provoked artificially by her self, with Turkey.

Turkey is not a party to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS, due to the continental shelf demands of Greece for her Dodecanese islands in Aegean sea. Turkey duly did not accept the 12 nautical miles width of the territorial waters of the Dodecanese islands as declared by Greece on the bases of UNCLOS and noted this act as “Casus Belli”, a “Cause of war”.

All the European countries recognized UNCLOS and are part of this Convention. According to UNCLOS, declaration of an Exclusive Economic Zone by an independent state strictly requires mutual agreement’s of the neighbor states around.

Since Turkey is not a part of this convention, she already possesses her previously declared southern Continental Shelf stretching 200 nautical miles southwards starting from the baseline joining Gazipasha, the eastern tip of Antalya bay, with Kash, the western tip of Antalya Bay, according to the 1958 Geneva Convention.

GCA had signed an Economic Cooperation agreement with Greece years before. Now she signed and agreement with Egypt delimiting their respective economic zones and providing for detailed offshore cooperation, while she also has agreed with Lebanon on a similar delimitation and cooperation.

The Economic Cooperation agreement with Greece, covers and delimits the seas between Rhodes island and Western tip of Cyprus, extending 200 nautical miles southwards, shuts away to Turkey the western waters of Eastern Mediterranean sea.

The Exclusive Economic Zone agreement with Egypt, covers all the waters with in Cyprus and Egypt and gives underwater sovereignty to Greece, Cyprus and Egypt.

The Exclusive Economic Zone agreement with Lebanon, covers all the waters in between Cyprus and Lebanon as well.

The target of these agreements is, to occupy Turkey’s southern Continental Shelf zone, to build a solid wall around Turkey’s southern shores and to isolate her from the seas of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, with all the underwater and sea bed wealth underneath.

Based on the 1960 Treaty of the Establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, the March 4, 1964 dated UN resolution No. 186, passed to stop the fierce inter-communal clashes on the island, contributed to the GCA the sovereignty and the role of Governing Government of the island of Cyprus.

The protocol 10 of the Republic of “Cyprus’ Accession Agreement” to the EU, took into consideration the island of Cyprus as a single sovereign state and the GCA as the sole and only accredited “Government of Cyprus”, as well.

Article 1(1) of Protocol 10 disregards the existence of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and partnership rights of Turkish Cypriots in the so called Greek Cyprus Government, and defines the territories under the sovereignty of TRNC as “the areas of the Republic of Cyprus in which the Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control”.

The trick of the artificial petrol crisis lies on extending and spreading the sovereignty of the GCA to the territorial seas of “the areas of the Republic of Cyprus in which the Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control”, namely the waters of TRNC, facing to Turkey, along the northern cost of the island and grasp the whole island, relying on to the 26 EU member states behind.

Ata ATUN

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August 7, 2012
Turkey says Israeli plane violates N.Cyprus airspace

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey said on Thursday it had scrambled military jets to intercept an Israeli plane that violated northern Cypriot airspace this week, and demanded an explanation for the incursion.

An Israeli military spokesman declined to comment on the accusation. But the incident marked a fresh source of tension between the former allies.

Relations between Turkey and Israel fell apart after Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara aid vessel in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and killed nine Turks in clashes with pro-Palestinian activists.

Monday’s reported air incursion coincided with tensions on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus over oil and gas exploration plans there, which could hinder U.N.-backed efforts to reunite the island.

“A plane belonging to Israel, the model of which could not be identified, violated KKTC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) airspace (above its territorial waters) five times,” the Turkish military said in a statement posted on its website.

“In response to this situation, our 2XF-16 plane based at Incirlik was scrambled and our planes carried out patrol flights in KKTC airspace, preventing the said plane from continuing to violate KKTC airspace,” said the statement.

Turkey’s foreign ministry said it had contacted Israel’s mission in Ankara, seeking an explanation for the incursion.

In Jerusalem, an Israeli military spokeswoman said she was checking the report.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when the Turkish military invaded the island after a short-lived Greek Cypriot coup engineered by the military junta then in power in Athens.

Turkey still keeps about 30,000 troops in the north and is the only nation that recognizes the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

ENERGY EXPLORATION TENSIONS

The internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government reported an offshore natural gas discovery in December but its attempt to exploit the reserves has been challenged by Turkey.

Ankara has in turn given approval for Turkey’s state-run oil firm to carry out oil and gas exploration in six offshore areas around northern Cyprus, drawing condemnation from the Greek Cypriot government, which lays claim to the territory.

Israel has separately reported two major energy finds offshore in the sea separating it from Cyprus.

Israel has worked to enhance ties with Cyprus and Greece as its relations with Turkey have frayed.

The eastern Mediterranean has recently seen joint Israeli military maneuvers with its partners, as well as long-distance training by Israel’s air force for a possible strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Israel uses warplanes and pilotless drones, as well as naval craft, to patrol its offshore natural gas fields.

Turkey stirred fears of a possible confrontation at sea by saying last year it would boost its naval patrols in the eastern Mediterranean.

But a senior Israeli military officer told Reuters there had been no discernible increase in Turkish naval operations in Israel’s economic waters, which extend 187 km (117 miles) from its coast.

(Additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem and Tulay Karadeniz in Ankara; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

via Turkey says Israeli plane violates N.Cyprus airspace – chicagotribune.com.

May 18, 2012
Russian, Italian, French companies among 15 bidding for oil and gas drilling rights off Cyprus – The Washington Post

By Associated Press, Published: May 11

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Major oil and gas companies such as Russia’s Novatec, Italy’s ENI, France’s Total, and Malaysia’s Petronas are among 15 firms and consortiums that are seeking to carry out exploratory drilling for gas deposits off southern Cyprus, the island’s commerce minister said Friday, despite Turkey’s strong objections.

The minister, Neoklis Sylikiotis, said the companies that applied for a license to drill by Friday’s deadline also include ones from Canada, the UK, Norway, Israel, South Korea and the U.S., surpassing the government’s hopes.

The bids come as the small east Mediterranean island nation is reeling from Europe’s financial crisis. It economy is projected to shrink by half a percentage point of GDP this year, and unemployment is hitting record highs.

“We’ve all had great expectations from this licensing round and I can tell you not only have the results not belied those expectations, they’ve exceeded them by far,” Sylikiotis told a news conference.

via Russian, Italian, French companies among 15 bidding for oil and gas drilling rights off Cyprus – The Washington Post.

May 12, 2012
Turkey’s Cyprus Oil Quest to Cost $250 Million

Turkey’s plans to search for oil and gas on its section of the divided island of Cyprus will cost about $250 million, Sabah reported, citing Energy Minister Taner Yildiz.

Turkey has as many as six exploration projects in the Mediterranean, including Cyprus, and state oil company Turkiye Petrolleri AO signed an exploration and production sharing agreement with Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) last year for blocks off Antalya, Yildiz said, according to the newspaper.

via Turkey’s Cyprus Oil Quest to Cost $250 Million, Sabah Reports – Bloomberg.

May 7, 2012
Turkish gas drill in Cyprus hikes tensions

Turkish gas drill in Cyprus hikes tensions

Turkey has begun drilling for natural gas in northern Cyprus, increasing tension across the east Mediterranean over control of offshore gas fields.

NICOSIA, Cyprus, April 27 (UPI) — Turkey has begun drilling for natural gas in northern Cyprus ratcheting up growing tension across the east Mediterranean over control of offshore gas fields that could transform the economies of a region long barren of energy resources.

The Turks control the northern one-third of Cyprus, where they’ve stationed 30,000 troops since 1974 when they invaded the island, which is dominated by Greek Cypriots.

Ankara calls its zone the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus but it’s recognized only by Turkey. The Greek Cypriot government in Nicosia is internationally considered the sovereign authority.

Technically, that means the Turks are drilling illegally.

That exacerbates a spider’s web of territorial and maritime disputes in the east Mediterranean that intersect with long-running and potentially explosive conflicts between Israel and its Arab neighbors and the ancient rivalry between Turkey and Greece.

Israel made the first discoveries off its northern coast in 2009-10 with the Noble Energy Corp. of Houston striking major reserves.

The Tamar field contains an estimated 9 trillion cubic feet of gas but the nearby Leviathan field has 17 tcf, the biggest strike made so far in the region. Four subsequent finds have boosted estimated Israeli reserves in the Levant Basin to 35 tcf, worth in excess of $130 billion and enough to turn the once energy-poor Jewish state into an exporter.

The Turks launched their drilling in the TRNC Thursday, sharpening the swelling dispute over who has rights to the island’s potential energy riches and setting back hopes of reconciliation between the two communities and the states that support them.

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz declared the onshore well operated by the state-run Turkish Petroleum Corp. has “strategic significance and we attribute great importance to it.”

Cyprus could be sitting on enough natural gas to last it 200 years.

When the Greek Cypriots, defying Turkish warnings, began exploration of the southernmost of their 12 maritime blocks in 2011, Turkey sent a seismic vessel escorted by a warship into Greek Cypriot waters and warned it would “retaliate even more strongly” to any further drilling.

Israel and Cyprus, where Noble Energy made a strike of 5 tcf-8 tcf recently, are collaborating on plans to jointly export their gas to Europe via an underwater pipeline to Greece.

Another option is building a liquefied natural gas plant, possibly offshore which would make it the world’s first floating LNG terminal — and a juicy target. China’s interested in building it.

The economic cooperation between Israel and Cyprus, 300 miles to the north, is also forging a new military alliance between the Jewish state and Greece.

This is rapidly replacing the strategic alliance between Israel and Turkey that was formalized in 1996, but broke apart in May 2010, in large part because of growing antagonism by Turkey’s Islamist-led government.

So a major realignment in the eastern Mediterranean appears to be under way as the region’s energy resources are uncovered.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported in 2010 that the Levant Basin, embracing Syria, Israel, the Gaza Strip and Cyprus, contains an estimated 122 tcf of gas and some 4 billion barrels of oil.

In February, Israel, a major regional military power, signed a military cooperation pact with the Greek Cypriots, whose military forces are miniscule. This allows Israeli ships and aircraft to use Cypriot territorial waters and airspace.

That will probably open the way for Israel to deploy F-16s on the island if the Turks get pushy there. Turkey has a squadron of its own F-16s in the TRNC.

Meantime, the Israelis are making elaborate plans to defend their offshore fields against terrorist or missile attacks.

For now at least, the main danger is seen to be Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed movement in Lebanon. Beirut claims that Leviathan, as designated by Israel, overlaps into 330 square miles of Lebanese waters.

The Lebanese are preparing to launch their own exploration in waters likely to hold major gas fields, adding to the complex energy mosaic.

Hezbollah, which has fought Israel since 1982, says it won’t allow the Jewish state to “plunder” Lebanese resources.

Israel took part in naval exercises in the region with U.S. and Greek warships March 25-April 5 that included protecting offshore gas platforms. Turkey was excluded.

The Israeli air force has held several joint maneuvers with the Greeks, where once they trained with the Turks.

via Turkish gas drill in Cyprus hikes tensions – UPI.com.

April 28, 2012
Turkey to begin gas exploration off Cyprus within weeks

Turkey will begin drilling for oil or gas off northern Cyprus at the end of March, having already carried out seismic studies, the head of state energy company TPAO said on Monday.

Any gas discovery in this area could raise the stakes in the negotiations over reunification of the island, and possibly increase tensions with Israel.

EU-member Cyprus, run by a Greek Cypriot government, started exploring for gas south of the island in September 2011, angering Turkey, which acts as the protector of the Turkish Cypriot separatists in the north.

In reaction, Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot administration signed a pact paving the way for exploration, and dispatched its only seismic research vessel, owned by TPAO, to those waters under naval escort to search for potential reserves.

“We’re starting drilling in northern Cyprus in the coming days…We have started shipping our equipment there,” TPAO chief executive Mehmet Uysal told Reuters on Monday, adding that drilling would start before the end of March.

“If there is a need to drill in areas where the licenses clash then we would take all measures,” he said, without elaborating on what that meant.

Despite warnings from Ankara to the Greek Cypriot government not to let Texas-based Noble Energy drill an offshore block, Noble’s drill went ahead and struck gas on the first attempt, potentially offering the island an energy source that can be used to produce the entire country’s electricity supply and possibly offer an export option for excess fuel.

Although it has limited fuel resources of its own, Turkey is surrounded by some of the biggest gas reserves in the world and is positioning itself as a key transit hub for Russian and central Asian gas supplies to Europe.

“We’re hoping this will be a peace project because Turkey is the main outlet for this gas,” Uysal said.

“All these companies drilling will have to send the gas to Europe and Turkey is the main route.”

Large oil and gas deposits recently discovered in the eastern Mediterranean threaten to exacerbate a number of existing tensions.

In addition to the Turkish-Cypriot dispute, Israel and Lebanon are also at odds over their maritime border.

Beirut contends Israel’s proposed border encroaches into Lebanon’s Exclusive Economic Zone, denying the Lebanese part of the lucrative Leviathan basin.

The Nicosia government signed a treaty with Tel Aviv last year which committed the two states to cooperating on developing their offshore oil projects.

The head of the Lebanese parliament’s Public Works, Transport, Energy and Water Committee said the move by Turkey made relations between the four countries more difficult.

“I think this will complicate the issue which is already complicated,” Mohammad Qabbani said.

“I think that there should be negotiations so that everybody will take their right. Except for Lebanon with Israel – we will not negotiate, we will ask for southern borders to be respected.”

Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri visited Cyprus last month following a trip by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Berri is believed to have warned Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias against warming ties with Israel.

The parliament speaker threatened that Lebanon would not ratify a 2007 agreement demarcating the maritime border between the two states unless Cyprus renegotiates its maritime agreement with Israel.

Qabbani said the Cypriots had suggested that they were willing to seek a deal.

“[Berri] said that the Cypriot officials were being objective and receptive to his point of view. It is for us to wait and see how they continue from there on.”

Lebanon has yet to commence exploration and drilling of its offshore oil and gas deposits, including those not straddling its southern maritime border with Israel.

(Al-Akhbar, Reuters)

via Turkey to begin gas exploration off Cyprus within weeks | Al Akhbar English.

March 15, 2012