Cyprus and Turkey have been engaged in a dispute over the extent of their exclusive economic zones (EEZ), ostensibly sparked by oil and gas exploration in the area. Turkey objects to Cypriot drilling in waters that Cyprus has asserted a claim on. The present maritime zones dispute touches on the perennial Cyprus and Aegean disputes; Turkey is the only member state of the United Nations that does not recognise Cyprus, and is one of the countries which are not signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which Cyprus has signed and ratified.
Turkey claims a portion of Cyprus' EEZ based on Turkey's definition that no islands, including Cyprus, can have a full 200 nautical mile EEZ authorized to coastal states and should only be entitled to their 12 nautical mile territorial seas. Turkey's definition creates a dispute over the rights to waters south of Cyprus containing an offshore gas field. This definition is not shared by most other states. Furthermore, the internationally unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which was created as result of the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus, which took place in response to 1974 Cypriot coup d'état, also claims portions of Cypriot EEZ. Cyprus and other countries including Israel, France, Russia and Greece view these claims on Cyprus' land and sea as illegal under international law and urge Turkey to refrain from illegal drilling for gas in the island's EEZ. The European Union has threatened Turkey with economic and political sanctions for violating the Cypriot EEZ.
Since Turkey does not recognise the Republic of Cyprus, there are no diplomatic relations between the two states. The Republic of Cyprus has refused to negotiate the maritime dispute and natural resources found in Republic of Cyprus' EEZ with the Turkish Cypriot leadership.
Chronology
Initial discoveries and agreements The first discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean were made between June 1999 and February 2000 offshore Israel. In 2003 Shell made the first significant discoveries of gas, offshore Egypt.
In February 2003 an EEZ delineation agreement was signed between Republic of Cyprus and Egypt. TRNC responded by stating that they do not recognise the agreement.
In February 2004, after performing drillings in the area, Shell's Matthias Bichsel announced that 'The drilling results have demonstrated that this ultra-deepwater area is a rich hydrocarbon province'.
In April of the same year, in two separate referendums, the Annan Plan was rejected by the Greek Cypriots, while accepted by the Turkish Cypriots. Regarding the maritime dispute, the acceptance of the Annan Plan would mean that after the solution the natural resources would be under the authority of the bicommunal Presidential Council. On May 1, Republic of Cyprus joined the European Union.
In January 2007 an EEZ delineation agreement was reached between Republic of Cyprus and Lebanon. However, it has not been ratified by the Parliament of Lebanon yet. Some argue that the reason is a dispute between Lebanon and Israel over their maritime borders, pressure from Turkey, the relations between Turkey and Lebanon, and a potential trade agreement between Lebanon and Turkey, which was eventually signed in 2010.
First Licensing Round and growing interest in the region In May, 2007, the Republic of Cyprus announced the 1st Licensing Round Offshore Cyprus, for Blocks 1, 2, 4–12, which received 3 bids. In October, 2008, Noble Energy granted a Hydrocarbon Exploration Licence for Block 12.
In November 2008, vessels performing research activities in the Republic of Cyprus' EEZ under contract with the Republic of Cyprus were intercepted by vessels of the Turkish Navy, and were asked to leave, as they claimed that their activities were conducted in areas under Turkish jurisdiction.
In January, 2009 the first big offshore discoveries were made in the Tamar 1, offshore Israel. Later, in March, 2009, new discoveries were made offshore Israel, at the Dalit 1 site.
In March, 2010, the US Geological Survey revealed that “the waters of the Levant Basin […] contain a mean of 122 tcf (3,455 bcm) of recoverable natural gas and 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil”, increasing the interest in the region.
Break in Turkish–Israeli relations and form of new alliances On 31 May 2010, the Mavi Marmara incident took place. In the Mavi Marmara or Flotilla incident, activists' boats were blocked by Israeli forces in international waters, on their way to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza. The Israeli soldiers were met with resistance while boarding the Mavi Marmara and opened fire, killing nine Turkish citizens. The incident resulted to the sudden end of all diplomatic relations between Turkey and Israel.
The deterioration of Turkish-Israeli relations, which reached its peak with the Mavi Marmara incident; in connection to the discoveries made in the Leviathan field offshore Israel, the greatest discoveries of gas made until then in the region, in October, 2010 and the new geopolitical realities in the Eastern Mediterranean; led to an "unprecedented political, military and energy cooperation" between Israel and Cyprus and Greece. In December 2010, an EEZ agreement was signed between The Republic of Cyprus and Israel, with Turkey reacting by questioning the Greek Cypriots' willingness to achieve a solution to the Cypriot Problem, stating that they "ignor[e] Turkish Cypriots' rights".
First explorations, reaction of Turkey and TRNC, and Eroğlu's proposal During September, 2011, Noble initiated the first exploratory drilling for Republic of Cyprus, in Block 12, with Turkey reacting by delineating their EEZ with TRNC. Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described the action as a 'reciprocal decision' to the actions of Republic of Cyprus. During September, Turkish officials issued harsh warnings towards The Republic of Cyprus in several occasions. On September 22 and 23 of 2011, TPAO received exploration licences from the TRNC, including areas overlapping with blocks licensed by The Republic of Cyprus, and Turkish vessel Piri Reis began seismographic research south of Cyprus and near Noble's platform, accompanied by Turkish warships.
In September 2011, Turkish Cypriot leader Derviş Eroğlu submitted a proposal for mutual suspension of activities within the maritime space around Cyprus, or the cooperation between the two communities on hydrocarbons, on issues such as distribution of profits. Republic of Cyprus rejected Eroğlu's proposal, responding that "exploration and exploitation of our natural resources constitutes a sovereign right of the Republic of Cyprus. [...] Our sovereign right is not negotiable".
In December 2011, Noble announced discoveries in Block 12, close to Israel's Leviathan. The discovered gas field, 'Aphrodite', was declared 'commercial' in June 2015.
Second Licensing Round and new proposal by Eroğlu In February 2012, Republic of Cyprus announced the 2nd Licensing Round, for 12 blocks, which received 15 bids. Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in response stated that they would not allow activities in blocks 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, which Turkey also claims theirs, and would "take all necessary measures to protect its rights and interests in the maritime areas falling within its continental shelf".
On 29 September 2012, a new proposal was submitted by the TRNC but was again rejected by the Republic of Cyprus. The proposal included a bicommunal technical committee for natural resources and related agreements and revenues, with a chairman appointed by the Secretary General of the UN, and a pipeline transporting hydrocarbons through Turkey.
In January 2013, ENI-Kogas granted Hydrocarbon Exploration Licences for Blocks 2, 3 and 9, and on the following February Total granted Hydrocarbon Exploration Licences for Blocks 10, 11.
Barbaros and NAVTEX in Cyprus waters In February 2013, TPAO finalized the purchase of 3D seismic vessel Polarcus Samur, which was renamed . Barbaros was used for explorations within Republic of Cyprus EEZ. In October 2014, Barbaros entered Republic of Cyprus' EEZ, accompanied by Turkish warships. President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades reacted by withdrawing from the bi-communal negotiation process for the Cypriot problem, in protest for Turkey's violation of Republic of Cyprus' sovereign rights.
In January 2015, Turkey issued a NAVTEX for the period between January and April, reserving areas in the Eastern Mediterranean that included parts of Republic of Cyprus's EEZ, while Barbaros conducted research in the region, in the presence of the Turkish navy. Negotiations for the Cypriot Problem resumed after Turkey's NAVTEX expired, in May, 2015, with newly elected Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci.
Eastern Mediterranean Gas Pipeline In May 2015, the European Commission grants €2 million to Eastern Mediterranean Gas Pipeline (EMGP), a proposed pipeline transferring gas from the Eastern Mediterranean to Europe through Greece, for pre-FEED studies. In January 2017, a study by Edison presented to the EU's Directorate-General for Energy described the project as 'commercially viable and technically feasible', while in January 2018, the Commission granted the project another €34.5 million for the FEED study and other expenses. In December 2018, a framework agreement regarding the project was signed between the governments of Israel, Republic of Cyprus, Greece and Italy.
On 19 May 2023, Claudio Descalzi, the CEO of Italian energy company Eni, said that any agreement for the construction of the EastMed pipeline must include Turkey; he added that "there are disputes between Turkey and Cyprus that are difficult to remedy, furthermore Turkey has made an agreement with Libya to define a very vast platform that covers almost the entire EastMed, therefore not only Turkey but also Libya will have a say." In response to these comments, George Papanastasiou, the Cypriot Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, stated that not all people agree with the opinions expressed by Descalzi, and that he respects his opinion. These remarks follow reports that Eni, Cyprus and Israel are working on a deal for constructing a natural gas pipeline in the Eastern Mediterranean, connecting both the Cypriot and Israeli offshore gas fields to a processing plant in Cyprus, where the gas will be liquefied for export by ship to Italy and the rest of Europe.
Zohr and Third Licensing Round In August, 2015, the biggest to-date discovery in the Eastern Mediterranean was made, within the EEZ of Egypt, in the Zohr gas field, by ENI. Zohr was found six kilometres away from Republic of Cyprus' EEZ.
In February, 2016, the 3rd licensing round for Republic of Cyprus was announced, for Blocks 6, 8 and 10.
Turkey's new NAVTEX and drillings In March, 2017, Turkey announced their intention to proceed to exploration drillings in areas delimited by the Republic of Cyprus. In April, 2017, Turkey released a NAVTEX for maritime areas east of Cyprus, overlapping with the EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus, for Barbaros to perform seismic surveys between April and June, with Republic of Cyprus again protesting for Turkey's violation of its sovereignty and sovereign rights.
ENI's discoveries and increasing tensions In April 2017, ENI was granted Block 8, ENI/TOTAL granted Block 6, and Block 10 was given to a cooperative bid of Exxon and QatarEnergy. On February 8, 2018, ENI announced discoveries of lean gas within Republic of Cyprus's EEZ, in well 'Calypso 1' of Block 6, which is also claimed by Turkey.