According to the press releases, a huge natural gas reserve was found in the Mediterranean. Exxon Mobil announced on 28.02.2019, Thursday that it has made the world's third-biggest natural gas discovery in two years in the Eastern Mediterranean at the Glaucus-1 well.
This new discovery is now candidate for becoming an alternative to Russian Gas for Europe since, in the statements, it is said to be the biggest find in the area. The discovery could represent a natural gas resource of approximately 5.142 to 227 bcm. Further analysis in the coming months is required to better determine the resource potential. Therefore, it is considered to be able to diversify EU’s its energy sources and reducing its dependence on Russia. It is stated that Block 10 is 2,572 square kilometers. In 2017, Exxon Mobil and state-owned Qatar Petroleum won the rights to explore for oil and gas in offshore areas south of Cyprus.
Apart from being a potential game changer in energy, this discovery has another very particular impact since this could be the beginning of an even more complicated situation in terms of Turkey’s objections starting from the very beginning. The exclusive economic zone that was announced unilaterally by Southern Cyprus constitutes a major issue. Turkey’s objections regarding Greek Cypriots having no jurisdiction to explore for natural gas, is disregarded until now.
It is definitely a challenging development in terms of energy; on the other hand it won’t be wrong to say that this could be a messenger of a new era for peace talks or an increasing tension?
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