Page 9 - MEOG Week 49

MEOG ProJeCts & ComPanies MEOG
Erdogan talks of Turkish and Libyan joint exploration in East Med
turKey
TUrKEy and Libya can carry out joint explo- ration operations in the eastern Mediterranean following the signing of their deal on maritime boundaries, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told state broadcaster TrT Haber on December 9.
The deal has been condemned by Greece as “a blatant violation of international law” particu- larly as it fails to take into account the presence of the Greek island of Crete.
Erdogan also said Turkey would procure a new drilling ship to continue activities in the eastern Mediterranean, adding that Ankara could expand operations to the Black Sea or international waters. Turkey has been accused by Cyprus of drilling in waters that are part of its exclusive economic zone. It already owns two drilling ships.
The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said on December 9 that some EU coun- tries are concerned over Turkey’s controversial maritime border agreement with Libya but that
the bloc will continue studying the deal before deciding whether to take action, The Associated Press reported.
“It’s clear that it is problematic. It poses major concerns to certain member states, in particular Greece and Cyprus,” Borrell told reporters after chairing a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Brussels.
“The Netherlands is always a staunch sup- porter of the rule of international law, and we side with Greece,” Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok reportedly said, adding: “International law should be upheld.”
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg was cited as saying “it’s a little bit astounding how they split up the Mediterranean among themselves. We’ll have to see how we deal with it”.
Egypt is another country concerned at what the deal between Turkey and Libya could mean as regards oil and gas drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean.™
PriCes
Date
WTI (US$)
ICE Brent (US$)
DME Oman (US$)
OPEC Basket (US$)
03 December
--
60.82
61.68
62.57
04 December
58.34
63.00
63.70
63.39
05 December
58.34
63.39
64.24
64.81
06 December
59.10
64.39
65.11
65.24
09 December
58.92
64.25
64.95
65.57
Week 48 04•December•2019 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m P9