Turkey is pushing ahead with its plans to build a natural gas pipeline to northern Cyprus. According to official information, extensive seismic investigations are now beginning along the planned route. The project is considered one of the largest infrastructure projects between Turkey and the northern part of the island, which Ankara recognises, and is already causing political tensions. 

According to a NAVTEX warning published by Turkey, the research vessel Oruc Reis will carry out investigations in the eastern Mediterranean until 30 August. The aim is to prepare the approximately 101-kilometre-long pipeline project, which is to run from Anamur on the Turkish Mediterranean coast to the Teknecik power plant near Kyrenia. About 97 kilometers of the pipeline are to run under the sea. According to the Turkish government, the pipeline is scheduled to go into operation in 2028. 

On July 10, Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot authorities signed a memorandum of understanding for the project. Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz described the agreement as a historic milestone in cooperation. Representatives of Northern Cyprus also speak of a project that is intended to secure the energy supply in the long term and strengthen economic development. 

According to Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, two parallel pipelines, each with a diameter of 56 centimeters, are to be built. The special thing about it is that the system should be usable in both directions. In the future, this would not only allow natural gas from Turkey to be transported to northern Cyprus, but theoretically also gas from Cyprus or the eastern Mediterranean to be forwarded via Turkey. 

The government of the Republic of Cyprus strongly condemns the project. The Foreign Ministry described the agreement as contrary to international law and sees it as another attempt to permanently consolidate the division of the island. According to Nicosia, the project is intended to further advance the economic and political integration of the occupied territories into Turkey. 

The European Union also voiced criticism. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Ankara must respect the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus as an EU member. 

The planned pipeline is much more than an energy project. Infrastructure of this magnitude is usually designed to last for decades and creates lasting economic dependence between the connected regions.

This inevitably raises a political question:

There is currently no reliable answer to this question. The pipeline project alone does not prove that Ankara rejects reunification, nor that it would be ruled out. However, the project is critically assessed by the Republic of Cyprus and the EU precisely because it could further consolidate existing structures of division. 

Whether the pipeline ultimately paves the way for closer economic cooperation or further deepens the political division of the island is likely to remain a central issue of Cyprus policy in the coming years.

According to the current status, natural gas is to flow through the pipeline. Turkey has not yet named a specific gas field as a source. From the available information, the following can be deduced:

Turkey is not simply building a supply pipeline for northern Cyprus.

With a bidirectional pipeline, it is creating an infrastructure through which natural gas from possible deposits off Cyprus or other fields in the eastern Mediterranean could also be exported in the future. This would strengthen Turkey as an energy hub between the Eastern Mediterranean and Europe.