Exclusive economic zone

The Chairman of the House of Foreign Affairs Committee of the American Parliament, Edward Royce and the Member of the Commission, Eliot Engel expressed in a letter to the President of the Republic of Cyprus, their position that the Turkish occupation of Cyprus should end.

In what appears to be an effort to steer clear of Greek-Turkish tensions, the British Royal Navy has reportedly canceled a scheduled military exercise off the southeastern Aegean island of Karpathos, which had been announced in a navigational telex (navtex) issued by Ankara, to the outrage of Athens, Ekathimerini writes.

Italian energy giant ENI is expected to start three hydrocarbon exploratory wells in blocks three, six and eight in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on November 1.

The well in block 6 is a joint venture with French energy concern TOTAL and is in an area hotly contested by Turkey.

The American aircraft carrier USS George W. Bush sailing near Cyprus jammed with its ESM/ECM electronic warfare systems the communications frequencies of Turkish fighter jets that attempted to reach the drilling site in the Cypriot EEZ.

The information was published by Kathimerini and it is indicative of the situation the Turls face by the Turks in Cyprus.

Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak claims his country is preserving its ‘guarantee rights’ following the recent move by energy firms TOTAL/ENI to begin drilling for gas within Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Turkey is escalating its provocations in the area of Cyprus, as Turkish media report that a military frigate was sent near plot 11 where drilling ship “West Capella” has started operations for the exploration of natural resources.

A US State Department spokesperson told protothema.gr that the US government backed the right of the Republic of Cyprus to drill in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for the exploration of natural gas and oil. Speaking to Michalis Ignatiou of mignatiou.gr and protothema.gr, the official said the US discouraged actions that led to an escalation of tensions in the region.

The Cypriot Ministry of Energy officially announced the start of exploration drilling of in block 11 with the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) at the “Onesifiros-West 1” target, which is expected to last for 75 days. The statement said the drilling rights were conceded to the joint consortium of Total E& P Cyprus B.V Eni Cyprus Limited.

Amid concerns of tension following last week's collapse of Cyprus peace talks, Turkish warships were expected off the island's coast on Wednesday morning ahead of the scheduled drilling operations by the French-Italian energy consortium of Total and Eni.

Turkey has reacted to the scheduled commencement of drilling for oil exploration in field 11 in the Cypriot waters by issuing a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) and Navigational Telex (NAVTEX) for search and rescue operation exercises for Wednesday, July 12 and Thursday, July 13.