Hydrocarbon deposits turn the Mediterranean a zone of contention

The events of this year show that the Mediterranean, or rather, its Eastern part, is becoming a disputed zone, the reserves of which, according to the US Geological Survey, are estimated at 3.45 trillion cubic meters of gas and 3.8 billion barrels of oil, according to other international structures - twice as much ...

At least eight states located in this region are interested in the large-scale hydrocarbon deposits, however, the summer of 2020 turned out to be hot due to the intensity of passions on this issue.

For example, On July 7 the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey will resume exploration drilling in the Mediterranean Sea and sent there a research vessel “Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha”.

In July, the foreign ministers of the EU countries criticized Turkey because of the drilling oil and gas fields in the waters of the eastern Mediterranean. In response, Turkey announced that it had sent an appeal to the UN, because considers it a violation of the agreement between Greece and Egypt on the "demarcation of the maritime border and the establishment of an exclusive economic zone" in the Eastern Mediterranean.

According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, "this agreement is invalid" and it "violates the rights of Libya."

In response, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said that the agreement signed earlier this year between the Libyan National Accord government and Turkey on cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean is illegal. Earlier in July, Greece signed an agreement with Italy on the demarcation of maritime boundaries between the two countries in the Mediterranean.

The “Financial Times”  writes that the list of countries that apply for or are already developing the fields of the Eastern Mediterranean are Italy, Israel, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus. “There is enough natural gas in the Eastern Mediterranean not only to supply these countries, but also for export. This creates the potential to transform the region's energy supply and create alliances between countries that previously seemed unthinkable,” notes the “Financial Times”. According to the British newspaper, Egypt and Israel are already successfully cooperating on this issue.

“The EU supports Greece and Cyprus, but in fact Turkey was excluded from the projects for the extraction of fossil fuels in this region, so President Erdogan sent his ships to the Eastern Mediterranean zone. Even the countries of the Persian Gulf and the United States have been drawn into the confrontation, causing serious concern to the EU and the United States ... This situation has become a strategic issue. Turkey is fighting in several parts of this region and is taking an extremely aggressive position towards the EU so that its influence in this region can no longer be ignored,” say independent experts (Associate Professor of International Relations at Ankara University Ozlem Kaygusuz and expert on Turkey at the Institute international relations of France Dorothea Schmid.

It is noteworthy that France supports the interests of its companies Total and Engie in the Mediterranean.

Early in 2018, Turkish warships blocked the “Engie” drilling platform, which received licenses from Cyprus. Turkey found itself in a difficult position after the US Congress lifted the arms embargo on Cyprus and increased foreign aid to the island, thus demonstrating support for the exploration of natural gas fields. Senator Robert Menendez, one of the initiators of these steps, made the following statement at that moment: "We made it clear that we no longer intend to put up with Turkish aggression in the Eastern Mediterranean region." The US State Department said that Ankara should avoid escalating tensions in the area of ​​the Greek coast - in the "disputed waters off the island of Kastelorizo." Germany, which currently holds the EU presidency, has called on Turkey to stop drilling in the Cyprus economic zone and not to start similar work near the Greek islands.

“International law must be respected. Through this prism, the progress in relations between the EU and Turkey will be considered if all activities in the Eastern Mediterranean stop,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass said the other day.

He noted that the European Union considers it necessary to conduct a dialogue with Turkey, since it is a strategically important country, "both within the framework of NATO and in the problems of migration." According to Viktor Nadein-Raevsky, senior researcher at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the definition of the shelf zone by Turkey does not comply with the Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“In addition to economic interest, Erdogan's imperial ambitions can play a role here. After all, the Ottoman state owned all the islands of the Aegean Sea, most of which now belong to Greece,” the Russian expert said.

"The position of Greece, which makes claims to Turkey in connection with the seismic research carried out by Ankara in the area of ​​the island of Kastelorizo ​​in the Mediterranean Sea, contradicts the norms of international law and the verdicts of international courts," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in late July. According to him, Ankara informs the UN about the phases of work on prospecting and exploration of deposits, carried out within the zone of the continental shelf of Turkey, to which "Athens claims without any grounds."

“The Greek side is trying to justify its position by belonging to the island of Meisti (the Greeks call it “Kastelorizo”), geographically located far from the coastal part of Greece. This kind of maximalist position contradicts the norms of international law and court decisions,” the diplomat added. "There is no doubt that Turkey will not allow any activity in this area and will continue to resolutely defend the legitimate rights and interests of our country and the Turkish Cypriots in the Eastern Mediterranean," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. Geographically from Meisti-Kastelorizo ​​to the Turkish port of Kash is only 7 kilometers, to mainland Greece - 580 kilometers. Greece has exercised jurisdiction over the island since 1947.

Turkey recognizes Greek control over only six nautical miles of territorial waters around the island and considers possible research work in the waters south of Kastelorizo, which the Greeks consider an exclusive economic zone.

 BEGINNING OF AGIOTAGE

The stir around oil and gas reserves in the Mediterranean Sea began in 2009, when the American exploration company Noble Energy discovered the Tamar gas field 100 km off the coast of Israel (recoverable reserves - over 300 billion cubic meters).

In 2010, a little further off, the Leviathan field with reserves of up to 1 trillion cubic meters of gas and 1.7 billion barrels of oil was discovered.

In 2011, oilmen found a field comparable in size off the coast of Cyprus - "Aphrodite". In February 2018, ExxonMobil discovered another natural gas block that doubled Cyprus' total reserves. Israel, Cyprus and Greece agreed to cooperate on these discoveries. Israel itself consumes about 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year, plans to increase this figure and export the surplus. In January 2020, the first deliveries of gas in the form of liquefied natural gas by tankers to various consumers began from the Leviathan. True, the field was launched at the wrong time, because the coronavirus pandemic has plummeted oil and gas prices around the world, but its reserves are designed for decades.

It was the long-term prospects of gas development projects in the Eastern Mediterranean that led to questions about the creation of the gas pipeline (s).  In 2016, there were attempts to reach an agreement on the construction of a main pipeline from Israel through Turkey, but the differences of the parties outweighed. As a result, Israel signed a framework agreement with Greece and Cyprus in January 2020 to build a 2,000-kilometer EastMed gas pipeline. According to the project worth about 6 billion euros, EastMed will start at the Leviathan field, stretch to Cyprus, then to Crete, and end on the territory of mainland Greece. Its initial capacity is determined at 10 billion cubic meters per year with the possibility of doubling it, as well as creating new "lines". The EU supported this pipeline project, because the gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean can provide 10% of the EU's demand for imported gas.

Ideally, the first gas deliveries through this pipeline may begin in 2027-28, but the unstable situation on the energy markets, the contradictions between the countries of the Mediterranean Sea may negatively affect these plans and, in general, pose a threat to the development of hydrocarbons in this basin.

 The world practice shows that a compromise can be a way out for the parties, but finding it will take time. –0—