Page 7 - MEOG Week 37

MEOG COMMENTARY MEOG

and Africa, and it will give Cyprus a means of Government of National Accord (GNA), based
converting its as-yet undeveloped gas resources in Tripoli and recognised by the UN, and has
into LNG that can be sold anywhere in the world. provided military support in the form of both
It will also be able to provide Iraq with another troops and materiel. Meanwhile, Cairo is back-
means of delivering its oil to the Mediterranean ing the rival Libyan National Army (LNA),
market. At the same time, it can continue to push headed by Khalifa Haftar, and has said it may
forward with the development of its own energy send some of its own soldiers into the country.
resources, including offshore gas fields such as If these conflicts heat up, Egypt will be hard-
Zohr and solar farms such as the 1,650-MW pressed to achieve its aims. It may have to delay
Benban facility. work on planned undersea pipelines and trans-
mission cables if Turkey actively contests its right
Greece, Libya and other hazards to operate in disputed territory. Likewise, it may
Nevertheless, the country will be operating in a have to divert funds and resources to Libya if the
complex geopolitical environment. conflict in the country heats up.
Tensions have risen in the region since last Meanwhile, there are other factors at work,
year, when Turkey and Libya signed a maritime according to Ian Simm, principal advisor at con-
agreement outlining their territorial claims in sultancy IGM Energy. Speaking to Middle East
the Eastern Mediterranean. The document has Oil & Gas (MEOG) about the planned pipeline
drawn a sharply negative response from Greece, for gas from the Aphrodite field, Simm com-
which has very different ideas about where the mented: “The timing of the pipeline announce-
boundary lines should be drawn. It has also exac- ment is curious, given that construction work
erbated long-standing disputes between Cyprus began in July on Cyprus’ Cynergy FSRU [float-
and Turkey, especially now that the latter has ing storage and regasification unit] and LNG
begun shooting a new seismic survey in waters terminal. However, it supports Cairo’s ambitions
near the former. of becoming an energy hub and would provide
Additionally, it has inspired Greece and Egypt Cyprus with access to the Egyptian market and
to draw up their own maritime accord. That doc- beyond. Perhaps the thinking in Nicosia is that
ument, which was signed in early August, pits the two projects offer diversified sales opportu-
both countries against Turkey, as it outlines ter- nities, with Cynergy also capable of receiving
ritorial claims that contradict the 2019 maritime LNG cargoes. While the pipeline is expected to
agreement. take gas solely from Aphrodite, Cyprus also has
At the same time, Egypt is already at odds 3-5tn cubic feet [85-142bn cubic metres] of gas
with Turkey in Libya, which remains mired reserves at Calypso and another 5-8 tcf [142-227
in civil conflict. Ankara has supported Libya’s bcm] at Glaucus.”™

Week 37 16•September•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P7