NICOSIA —
Cyprus announced on Wednesday it has resumed searching for oil and gas with US energy
giant
ExxonMobil after drilling operations stopped for more than a year because
of coronavirus.
اضافة اعلان
The search is focused on Block 10 of
Cyprus's
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Joint venture ExxonMobil and Qatar Energy
have an exploration license for Block 10. Work has begun there on appraisal
drilling in Glafcus 2, where natural gas has been detected.
"With the appraisal drilling in Glafcus
2, the drilling program resumes in the EEZ of Cyprus," Energy Minister
Natasa Pilides tweeted on Wednesday.
"We worked with our licensees to ensure
the safety of their activities amid the pandemic."
The energy ministry said drilling conducted
by the drillship Stena Forth would be "monitored continuously" by
officials.
It is the first drilling operation off the
Cyprus coast since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.
Despite Turkish opposition, Nicosia has gone
ahead with its energy search.
In February 2019, ExxonMobil and
Qatar Energy discovered a huge natural gas reserve off Cyprus in Block 10, the
island's largest find to date.
It is estimated to hold between five and
eight trillion cubic feet.
Results of the new drill are expected by the
end of February.
Turkey had threatened to prevent
ExxonMobil's search for oil and gas off Cyprus after Nicosia awarded it the
rights to Block 5 earlier this month.
The Turkish foreign ministry said a sector
of the licensed area violates Turkey's continental shelf in the eastern
Mediterranean.
"Turkey will never allow any foreign
country, company or ship to engage in hydrocarbon exploration activities in its
maritime jurisdictions," the ministry said earlier in December.
Ankara would "defend" its rights
and those of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, it said.
The breakaway TRNC, recognized only by
Ankara, lays claim to energy resources discovered off its coast, insisting that
the island's natural resources belong to both communities.
The eastern Mediterranean has become an
energy hot spot, with significant natural gas finds for Cyprus, Israel and
Egypt.
Ankara was accused of "gunboat
diplomacy" in February 2018 when the Turkish navy prevented a ship leased
by Italy's
ENI from reaching its drilling destination in Cyprus's Block 3.
The European Commission has urged Turkey to
de-escalate and vowed to defend the interests of member states Greece and
Cyprus.
Turkey was widely condemned for sending its
own drill ships into Cypriot waters for energy exploration, with the
EU slapping sanctions on Ankara.
During the first half of 2022, ENI and
France's Total are expected to drill in their licensed blocks.
Cyprus has been divided since
Turkey invaded
and occupied its northern third in 1974 in response to a Greek-engineered coup
aiming to annex the island.
Nicosia has pushed ahead with offshore
energy exploration despite the collapse in 2017 of UN-brokered talks to end the
country's decades-long division.
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