Turkey's drilling vessel, Fatih, will soon restart drilling in the Mediterranean Sea to continue oil and national gas exploration activities, Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez announced Wednesday.
"Fatih vessel has concluded its drilling activities in Finike, and has come to Mersin Tasucu Harbor for supplies," Donmez said, adding that after some renovation work and loading up with supplies, which will take a few weeks, it will restart drilling as soon as possible in situ offshore the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
Turkey's other drilling vessel, Yavuz, started drilling in Guzelyurt a few weeks ago, Donmez told reporters at the 12th International Energy Congress and Expo (EIF 2019) in Ankara. "If there are [oil and gas] resources, we will find them. And when we find them, we will share it with our nation. It will require some patience," he affirmed.
The minister relayed that Turkey's Oruc Reis and Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa vessels are continuing their 2D and 3D seismic activities. Turkey, as a guarantor nation for TRNC, is currently carrying out hydrocarbon exploration activities in the Eastern Mediterranean with the two drilling vessels Fatih and Yavuz, along with Oruc Reis and Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa seismic vessels in the same region.
Turkey has consistently contested the Greek Cypriot administration’s unilateral drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean, asserting that the TRNC also has rights to the resources in the area. In 1974, following a coup aiming at Cyprus’s annexation by Greece, Ankara had to intervene as a guarantor power. In 1983, the TRNC was founded.
The decades since have seen several attempts to resolve the Cyprus dispute, all ending in failure. The latest one, held with the participation of the guarantor countries -- Turkey, Greece, and the U.K. -- came to an end without any progress in 2017 in Switzerland. The 12th EIF 2019 congress, in which Anadolu Agency is the global communication partner, is running from Nov. 6 to 8. It is hosting around 300 executives, experts and CEOs from more than 40 countries to discuss renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydro and biomass, in addition to topics on the global energy market and investment opportunities in Turkey.
(Anadolu Agency)
