The prospect of Cyprus' gas in terms of the European Union's needs, and how this prospect is limited by the fact that the Cyprus problem remains unresolved, according to an extensive report by the European news website Politico.
The text focuses in particular on how the tension between Turkey and Greece is preventing the exploitation of natural resources within the EU's own borders, at a time when Europe is looking for alternative energy sources to wean itself off gas.
The report, which is signed by Politico's Greece, Cyprus and Balkans correspondent Nektaria Stamoulis, says that Turkey is demanding a say in the exploitation of Cyprus' resources, ensuring that the benefits are also directed to the Turkish Cypriot community.
At the same time, Turkey wants any gas in the region to pass through its territory to Europe, while Greece supports plans to transport gas through Cyprus and Greece.
As the report points out, the involvement of Israel, Egypt and Lebanon in the consultations is another factor that brings things to a standstill.
After initial hopes that the unity brought by the war in Ukraine would bring a rapprochement between Greece and Turkey, as was evident from the Mitsotakis-Erdoğan meeting, tensions between the two sides have now returned with Erdogan cutting ties and Greek authorities putting their troops on alert, it adds.
The text links the tension between Greece and Turkey to the fact that 15 years after the first exploration was announced and 11 years after the first fields were discovered, Cyprus has not moved forward as no gas has been extracted and no decisions have been made on how it could be transported to the rest of Europe along with gas from other sources in the region.
Speaking to the reporter, Foreign Ministry Director General Cornelios Cornelius Cornelius says that Cyprus had lowered expectations about Turkey's behaviour, while PRIO Cyprus Director Harris Tzimitras says that energy could be a field of cooperation in the region but unfortunately it has become yet another field of conflict.
As mentioned, Cypriots are concerned as tensions will discourage energy companies from continuing exploration at a time when the country is already affected by the loss of revenue from Russian sources.
The article also briefly mentions the tensions with Turkey over the Eastern Mediterranean and the targeted measures imposed by the EU in 2019.
Currently, it adds, ExxonMobil and Qatar Energy are active in the region, while Energy Minister Natasha Pelidou told Politico that Eni and Total are expected to enter the region in the coming weeks, as well as proposals for the Aphrodite field from a consortium led by Chevron.
Pileidou also said there is a need to accelerate the development of hydrocarbons in the Eastern Mediterranean and the use of natural gas as a transitional fuel in view of climate neutrality in 2050.
The article lists the options for the transportation of natural gas depending on the fields that will be identified which will also affect the viability of these options.
In particular, it records the idea of interconnecting Aphrodite with a terminal in Egypt, the proposal submitted by a Greek company to connect to Israel by a small pipeline and export the gas through a liquefaction platform in Cyprus, and the idea of transporting the gas by pipeline through Turkey. This idea, according to the article, was reinforced after the recent Turkey-Israel rapprochement.
Turkey's ambassador in Athens, Burak Ozugergin, referred to the geopolitical and economic dimension of energy in the region, arguing that Turkey should be involved as it is a central hub and a major market.
Pileidou, on the other hand, underlined that the deadlock does not only affect Cyprus but the international community, noting that the geopolitical and technical issues raised regarding the EastMed pipeline can also be raised in relation to a pipeline from Israel to Turkey.
Finally, the article refers to the upcoming elections in Greece, Turkey and Cyprus before 2023 at the latest, which, as noted, creates limited expectations for a de-escalation.
On the one hand, Mr. Corneliu refers to Turkey's practice of creating fait accompli that prevents negotiations from taking place.
There is also reference to the confidence-building measures presented by the G/C side and the fact that they have not brought progress, with Ms. Pileidou stating that she hopes they will be seriously considered by the G/C side.
Source: CNA
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