Offshore drilling on the Atlantic coast of the United States

The U.S. government, under pressure to lower gas prices, announced on April 15 that it will resume the sale of leases for oil and gas drilling on federal lands while imposing new conditions, including the first hike in royalties in more than 100 years.

The U.S. has urged Turkey to reconsider its decision to start offshore drilling operations in Cyprus, according to a statement.     

The Pentagon on March 8 denied allegations that the U.S. naval forces were deployed to the eastern Mediterranean to provide protection for the drilling operations of one of America’s largest oil and gas companies.

Some 50 percent of the offshore section for the TurkStream Offshore Gas Pipeline has been installed, the project company announced in a statement on March 6.

Turkey's Unit International has signed a $7 billion agreement with Russia's state-owned Zarubezhneft and Iran's Ghadir Investment Holding to drill for oil and natural gas in Iran, the company said on Aug. 15.

Greece approved applications submitted by a consortium of Total, ExxonMobil and Hellenic Petroleum for oil and gas exploration and drilling off the island of Crete, its Energy Ministry said on Friday.

The ministry also approved an application submitted by Greece's sole oil producer Energean Oil for offshore drilling in western Greece, the ministry said.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Dec. 20 designated the bulk of U.S.-owned waters in the Arctic Ocean and certain areas in the Atlantic Ocean as indefinitely off limits to future oil and gas leasing.

The move helps put some finishing touches on Obama's environmental legacy while also testing President-elect Donald Trump's promise to unleash the nation's untapped energy reserves.