Turkey warns companies against Greek Cypriot oil exploration tender

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey warned 15 companies, which submitted bids in a fresh Greek Cypriot tender for oil exploration in disputed areas of the Mediterranean, to withdraw from the project, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

“The companies which cooperate with GKRY [the Greek Cypriot administration] will not be included in energy projects in Turkey in the future,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.

Turkey’s warning came after Greek Cyprus announced that 29 companies had made 15 bids for exploratory drilling in a second round of licensing to exploit offshore oil and gas deposits despite strong objections from Turkey. Russia’s Novatec, Italy’s ENI, France’s Total and Malaysia’s Petronas, ATP of the U.S., Canada’s Petra Petroleum, Israel’s Delek and Britain’s Vitol are among 15 firms and consortiums seeking a license to carry out exploratory drilling off Cyprus Island.

The statement said the exploration was “an abuse of the rights of Turkish Cypriots to the same resources.”