Turkey vows more drilling in Cyprus EEZ despite growing Covid-19 contagion risk

摘要

Turkey has vowed to continue its drilling program in the eastern Mediterranean even though the novel coronavirus is beginning to gather strength inside the country, with some 4,000 new cases being reported every day. Ankara’s persistence comes as ExxonMobil postponed an appraisal well in the Cyprus offshore by more than a year due to the pandemic and wider market turmoil. Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu yesterday said Turkey would continue drilling in the east Mediterranean and reiterated calls for discussions on how Turkish and Greek Cypriots might jointly manage revenues from future hydrocarbon sales.