Turkish blockade of ship off Cyprus is out of Eni's control, CEO says

A Turkish blockade of a ship hired by Eni to drill for gas off the Cyprus coast is a diplomatic issue that is out of the Italian oil company's hands, Eni's CEO said on Friday.

Last week, the Saipem 12000 drill ship heading from a location southwest of Cyprus towards an area southeast of the island was stopped by Turkish military ships and told not to continue because of military activities in the destination area.

The ship is still halted, a Saipem spokesman said.

Asked about the incident, Claudio Descalzi said Italy, Europe, France, Cyprus and Turkey were discussing the issue.

"It's not really under our control," he told analysts during a conference call on the company's fourth quarter results. [Reuters]