Cyprus oil drilling saga: Turkey warns will shun firms involved

Turkish foreign ministry calls on the countries and oil companies not to operate in disputed waters off Cyprus.

ANKARA: Turkey warned Saturday it would shun international companies involved in oil and gas drilling off the shores of the divided island of Cyprus. “As it was repeated several times... the companies which will cooperate with the Greek Cypriot Administration will be excluded from new energy projects in Turkey in the future,” the foreign ministry said in a written statement. Turkey’s warning came after Cyprus on Tuesday approved licenses for drilling to exploit offshore oil and gas deposits and said it will negotiate the terms of a partnership with Italy’s ENI, South Korea’s Kogas, France’s Total and Russia’s Novatek for energy exploration off the island. The Turkish foreign ministry called on the countries and oil companies not to operate in disputed waters off Cyprus and to withdraw from the tender. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third in response to an Athens-engineered coup in Nicosia aimed at union with Greece.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2012.