Page 8 - MEOG Week 33
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MEOG POLICY MEOG
Cyprus hits out at EU’s
handling of Turkey
TURKEY CYPRUS on August 17 hit out at European Cypriot government spokesman Kyriakos
Union partners over what it perceived as diffi- Koushios said in remarks to reporters quoted by
dence amounting to “a policy of appeasement” in Reuters.
dealing with Turkey, which is in a stand-off with Expressions of support from EU partners
Cyprus and Greece over energy exploration in were welcome but were not enough, he said,
the eastern Mediterranean. adding: “The policy of appeasement and the
The Cypriots were disappointed that Greece messages of support are not enough to discour-
failed to obtain a strong commitment from fel- age Turkey from its illegal actions.”
low EU nations for sanctions against Turkey for The EU, he said, needed to have a “more
its offshore natural gas surveys that impinge on intense” presence in the eastern Mediterranean.
areas where both countries claim jurisdiction. Turkey drew another EU rebuke on August
Two Turkish survey ships are in two areas of the 16 when it said its Yavuz energy drill ship would
disputed maritime region. One area is, according extend operations in disputed Mediterranean
to Athens, on Greece’s continental shelf and the waters off Cyprus until mid-September.
other is claimed by Cyprus. In both cases, Turkey Turkey questions Cyprus’s right to explore
states that it has jurisdiction, disputing the con- in the seas around the island because it main-
tinental shelf delimitations put forward by the tains that the Nicosia administration does not
Greeks and Cypriots. represent the interests of Turkish Cypriots.
“Unfortunately we are observing a diffidence Cyprus rejects that argument, saying it is legally
from the European Union in taking on a sub- recognised as representing the entire island of
stantive role and adopting policies of deterrence,” Cyprus.
PROJECTS & COMPANIES
Chevron eyes Nassiriya deal
as it continues spending
IRAQ US major Chevron is reportedly set to sign a Al-Kadhimi, to Washington.
memorandum of understanding (MoU) with The field was discovered 200 km north-west
Iraq’s Ministry of Oil (MoO) this week that will of Basra by the Iraq National Oil Co. (INOC) in
see it develop the Nassiriya oilfield, located in the 1978, though production did not commence
southern province of Dhi Qar. until 2009, mainly because of the Iran-Iraq war.
The plans were first reported by the Wall Chevron has previous with Nassiriya, having
Street Journal, quoting people familiar with the been among four companies to submit bids to
matter. develop the field on an engineering, procure-
Middle East Oil & Gas (MEOG) understands ment and construction (EPC) basis in 2009.
that Nassiriya has a production capacity of The other bidders were Italy’s Eni, Spain’s
90,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude from an Repsol and a Japanese consortium led by Nippon
estimated 4.36bn barrels of recoverable reserves, Oil, which was in the driving seat when nego-
though output is around 15,000-20,000 bpd tiations broke down, mainly because of the low
lower, and Chevron is reported to be discussing remuneration off ered by Baghdad.
further exploration work on the asset. The MoU would mark the latest step in a shift
The MoO has previously spoken of inten- in strategy for Chevron, which appears to be
tions for the field to produce above 100,000 bpd focusing on the Middle East following its deal in
and such a target will likely be included in any July to acquire Noble Energy and its large Israeli
agreement. assets for $5bn, while the company is the only
While the US company would not comment, foreign operator in the Partitioned Neutral Zone
the report suggested that if the deal was signed, (PNZ) between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, where
it could be announced late this week during production is ramping up and is anticipated to
the visit of Iraq’s new prime minister, Mustafa reach around 100,000 bpd by year-end.
P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 33 19•August•2020
