Turkey Starts E Med Drilling

Turkey's state upstream operator Turkish Petroleum (TP) began drilling its first deep water well within Turkey's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Gulf of Antalya October 31.

Speaking on board TP's deep water drill ship, the Fatih, Turkish energy minister Fatih Donmez said that the first well is expected to take 150 days to complete and that current plans are for TP to drill a maximum of two deep water wells a year.

TP took delivery of the drill ship Deepsea Metro earlier this year, renaming it Fatih and announced earlier this month that it had signed a $15m contract with Schlumberger for "project services".

The start of drilling within Turkey's EEZ should go some way to de-escalating tensions in the region, following suggestions that TP could be planning to drill within the EEZ claimed by the Republic of Cyprus.

TP has been conducting seismic surveys within Cyprus EEZ, whose delineation Turkey does not recognise.

Ankara also does not recognise the right of the republic of Cyprus to exploit hydrocarbon reserves within the EEZ, such as the Aphrodite gas field discovered in 2010 by US firm Noble Energy.

Ankara insists that all mineral reserves belonging to Cyprus should be shared between the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus, and the internationally unrecognised Turkish republic of North Cyprus which occupies the northern third of the island.