Turkey to send another vessel for gas and oil exploration off Cyprus
On Sept. 23, Turkey dispatched its only research vessel, the Piri Reis, to the eastern Mediterranean.
Turkey will send another vessel for gas and oil exploration off Cyprus tomorrow, the energy minister said today amid escalating tension over prospecting off the divided island.
It will set sail from Turkey’s southern Antalya port for the Mediterranean Monday morning, Energy Minister Taner Yıldız told the Anatolia news agency.
The ship will prospect for gas and oil in a 1,100 square-kilometer area and stay for 40 days in the Mediterranean, he added.
Regional tensions have risen since the Greek Cypriot government, recognized internationally but not by Turkey, struck a deal with U.S. energy firm Noble, which has already started exploratory drilling for gas off the southern coast of Cyprus.
In retaliation, Turkey sent a ship, Piri Reis, to the region in September after signing an accord with Turkish Cyprus, which only Ankara recognizes, for gas exploration.
Piri Reis will also continue gas exploration activities, the minister said.
He also announced that Turkey had another ship prospecting gas and oil in the Mediterranean after an agreement with an international company, which he said has not been publicized so far.
“So, as of tomorrow we will have three vessels in the Mediterranean,” said Yıldız.
The gas exploration “will continue in the north and south and even in the western parts of the island,” he added.
Turkey says the Greek Cypriot government has no right to conduct offshore energy exploration while UN-backed talks on reunifying the island are ongoing.
October 23, 2011
SOURCE: HURRIYET DAILY NEWS
