Drilling in Med Sea to continue despite pandemic: Minister

Turkey will not suspend its drilling activities in the east Mediterranean Sea although energy prices have fallen to historic levels due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Turkish energy minister said on May 11.

"We will continue with our working programs in our areas in accordance with the licences taken from both the Republic of Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus [TRNC]," Fatih Dönmez told daily Milliyet.

Oil prices, which are floating more than 50 percent below the levels at the end of last year due to low demand, are expected to rise again after OPEC countries led by Saudi Arabia and other producers including Russia ended a price war as of May 1, the minister recalled.

"These [drilling] activities consume a long period of time. If they are paused, the working plan will be disrupted for at least a couple of years. We will continue with our program without wasting time," he added.

Turkey, as a guarantor nation for the Cyprus island, is currently carrying out hydrocarbon exploration activities in the Eastern Mediterranean with its drilling vessels, Fatih and Yavuz, along with other seismic vessels that are also operating in the same region. Most recently, Turkey sent its third drilling ship Kanuni to the southern province of Mersin in March.

Turkey has consistently contested the Greek Cypriot administration's unilateral drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean, asserting that the TRNC also has rights to the resources in the area.

Meanwhile, the collapse in oil prices has resulted in an appetite loss for international actors in the region.

U.S. company ExxonMobil has put its drilling plans offshore Cyprus on hold from April 13 because of unpredictability in international markets.

The drilling...