Minister: Cyprus Could Be Major Gas Exporter

The Eastern Mediterranean is set to become a key exporter of gas to Europe with Cyprus at the forefront, a Cypriot minister has said.

In an interview with Platts news agency, Cypriot Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis said that the potential for energy from the region was massive.

"There is a huge potential for natural gas and oil in the Eastern Mediterranean," she said. With up to 400 trillion cubic feet of gas and 8 billion barrels of oil in the Mediterranean Sea off Cyprus, Egypt, Israel and Lebanon, the Eastern Mediterranean Sea is comparable to some of the biggest producers in the world, including Australia and Canada, the minister said.

Through this potential, the region could be one of the most secure suppliers of gas to Europe, the minister told the news agency. The country's potential had opened it up to interest from 70 foreign countries, the minister said, from all over the world, all vying for a licence to explore for resources in Cyprus.

"There is much need for energy security and energy supply for the European union especially from a member state of the European Union," she said. "Potentially this whole area of the Eastern Mediterranean could be the most secure supply of natural gas for the European Union."

However, despite the minister's assertions, conflict with Turkey continues to stoke tensions between the two countries, threatening the security of Cyprus's supply.

Earlier this month, Turkey announced that it had approved a plan by state-run TPAO to begin drilling in Cypriot waters. Turkey, which does not recognise Cyprus' autonomy as a sovereign state, granted the company permission to drill in six areas in Cyprus's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

In the interview with Platts, Minister Kozakou-Marcoullis said that Turkey was "totally in violation of international law,and especially the UN convention on the law of the sea."

However, the minister said despite these threats from Turkey, the interested companies did not seem to be deterred from participation in the country.