'A New Geopolitical Game In Mediterranean Hydrocarbons: Windows of Opportunities or New Challenges?' [PDF]

Prof. Dr. Mesut Hakkı CAŞIN & İsa Burak GONCA

Prof. Dr. Mesut Hakkı CAŞIN is my MA thesis adviser from the Yeditepe University of Istanbul. I learned a lot from him and I am always proud of being his student.

By cliking on the link, you can reach his article about 'A New Geopolitical Game In Mediterranean Hydrocarbons: Windows of Opportunities or New Challenges?'

>http://dergipark.ulakbim.gov.tr/jocaffairs/article/view/5000130650

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Energy giant Shell signs Turkish oil and gas deal

Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell signed a deal Wednesday with the Turkish state-run petroleum company, TPAO, to explore oil and gas.

The deal will allow the two companies to search for oil and natural gas offshore in the Mediterranean as well as onshore in Turkey's southeast region, the paper said on its website.

Turkey has long-running disputes with Greek Cyprus over delineating the Mediterranean and Aegean seas for the exploration of oil and gas resources.

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said last Wednesday in Ankara that the deal, if sealed with Shell, would pave the way for the exploration of oil and natural gas on the Turkish lands and seas. 

 “TPAO [Turkish Petroleum Corporation] and Shell will undersign a joint operation agreement on Nov. 23 that covers exploration in the maritime areas of [the southern province of] Antalya,” Minister Taner Yıldız told the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday.

“This will be an important opening in the Mediterranean. We are moving our strategic weight from the BlackSea to the Mediterranean Sea,” Yıldız said during a phone interview.

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Greek Cypriots Start Oil Drilling In the Eastern Mediterranean

The Greek Cypriot administration is reported to have started drilling for oil in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Israeli media say that the Israeli partnered American company Noble has started exploration on Monday.

According to the Globes website, the company Noble has started drilling for natural gas with ten days to go before the expiry of the agreement it struck with the Greek Cypriot administration.

A Greek Cypriot news agency has said that the company employees were carried by helicopter to a platform set up in the region from Limasol.

Turkey has earlier warned that if southern Cyprus were to launch drilling activities in the region, it was going to sign a continental shelf agreement with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

TRT-World

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Turkey on Cyprus: No More Mr. Nice Guy

Cyprus, that cute little island in eastern Mediterranean, has never been on the top of my following list. I have always wished all the best for its peoples, the Greeks and the Turks, but their never-ending disputes have been not just too complicated but also too uninspiring for me.

However, being Turkish inevitably means being connected to Cyprus, for the fate of the island is unavoidably linked with Turkey’s place in the international scene, including its bid to join the European Union. These days, especially, Cyprus looks more and more definitive for us, with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent bravado on the island

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