Members of the Turkish parliament expressed outrage on Wednesday evening over the start of natural gas drilling off the coast of Cyprus and the perceived inaction of the government on the matter.

The focus of the debate was the drilling operations of the American multinationals ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy in Block 5 of Cyprus's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which began last Friday.

Deputy leader of the ruling AK Party, Leyla Sahin Usta, stated that Block 5 belongs to Egypt, not Turkey, according to maritime claims recognized by the Turkish government , and that it is therefore not Turkey's job to protest or try to stop the activities of ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy.

"According to our Blue Homeland map, this is within the Egyptian continental shelf," she said, referring to the Turkish government's Blue Homeland doctrine regarding its claims in the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Opposition MPs, however, were less convinced, and Iyi Party deputy chairman Turhan Comez was the first to express his displeasure.

"The maps are clear, this region does not belong to Egypt," he began, before CHP energy spokesman Deniz Yavuzyilmaz also voiced his disagreement.

" If it belongs to Egypt, why are the Greek Cypriots issuing a Navtex? Don't make fun of our intelligence services . Block 5 off the coast of Cyprus has nothing to do with Egyptian territorial waters," he said.

Comez then intervened in the matter for a second time and demanded action from the government.

"The drilling area belongs to Turkey. Where are our boats? Why can't we see the Blue Homeland doctrine on the ground? Tell the truth to Parliament and the public. The Greek Cypriots are drilling in the territorial waters of the TRNC and we are sitting here watching," he said.

He then called on the Turkish Foreign Ministry to issue a statement “as soon as possible.”

Block 5 is a cause for optimism in the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Cyprus. Minister George Papanastasiou said on Monday that the discovery of significant deposits there could lead to the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Cyprus.

However, the intended use of any gas discoveries must be decided on a case-by-case basis, he said.

"The deposits in the Cyprus EEZ are very scattered, so it is not economically advantageous to store them all in Egyptian terminals or in a floating terminal that may be built in our country. The best economic solution must be found for each deposit," he said.

Source: CyprusMail

Author: Tom Cleaver