Turkey, Shell to sign oil drilling deal for the Mediterranean Sea

Turkey, Shell to sign oil drilling deal for the Mediterranean Sea

2011-11-17 18:59:40 GMT+7 (ICT)

ANKARA (BNO NEWS) -- Turkey's state-run oil company is close to inking a deal for both onshore and offshore exploration with Dutch energy giant Shell, the country's energy minister said on Wednesday.

Minister Taner Yıldız told the Hürriyet Daily News that the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) and Shell will sign the agreement on November 23. Under the joint operation agreement, the exploration will cover the maritime areas of the southern province of Antalya.

"This will be an important opening in the Mediterranean. We are moving our strategic weight from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea," Yıldız said during a phone interview with the newspaper.

Shell will initially undertake TPAO's current operation and finalize it within two years. "In accordance with the seismic data, we plan to begin three years of drilling by the start of 2014," Tildiz explained.

"Of course it is not possible to tell if oil will be found with such exploration activities, but if the seismic and drilling activities are completed on time and we find oil off Antalya, we will be able to start production by the beginning of 2017," the minister said.

The move comes in the wake of disputes between Greek Cyprus and Turkey over exploration rights on seas surrounding the divided island. Greek Cyprus began exploration off its southeastern shore earlier this fall, a move that Turkey says violates the rights of Turkish Cypriots.

However, Turkey responded by conducting its own seismic studies on potential oil and gas reserves off the coast of the divided island. Noble Energy, a U.S.-based energy firm which carried out the Greek Cypriot exploration, declared on November 15 that exploratory drilling off the coast of the Island could yield between 3 trillion and 9 trillion cubic feet (84.9 trillion to 254 trillion cubic meters) of natural gas.

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