Turkey prepares to drill for gas off Cyprus early next month

Turkey will resume gas exploration off its coast in the Mediterranean on 9 August, the energy ministry said Tuesday (26 July).

“Turkish drilling ship Adbulhamid Han will start a mission in the Mediterranean on 9 August departing from the Mersin port” in the south of the country, it said in a statement.

It did not say where exactly the drilling would take place, but a top Turkish official last week said it would carry on with exploration near the divided island of Cyprus next month.

The European Union came close to sanctioning Ankara in 2020 for pushing into what Cyprus sees as its territorial waters in search of fresh natural gas reserves.

Turkey disputes its maritime borders in the eastern Mediterranean with EU members Greece and Cyprus.

The island of Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish forces occupied the northern part of the island in response to a military coup sponsored by the junta in power in Greece at the time.

The northern third is the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) — recognised only by Ankara.

The Republic of Cyprus, an EU member since 2004, controls the southern part of the island. Officially the entire territory of Cyprus is EU territory.

(Edited by Georgi Gotev)