Turkey drills in troubled waters
The deployment of the Yavuz in a section of the Mediterranean claimed by Cyprus pushes the region closer to open conflict
Turkey announced this week that it is “tearing up the maps” in the eastern Mediterranean, with a drillship now searching for gas deposits south-west of Cyprus. The Yavuz, operated by state-owned Turkish Petroleum (TPAO), is stationed in an area already claimed by the Cypriot government. At stake are massive gas deposits discovered by Egypt, Cyprus and Israel, with Turkey insisting it has a right to share in the region’s hydrocarbons boom. Turkish vice president Fuat Oktay said the ship’s deployment was a declaration of intent. “We are tearing up maps in the eastern Mediterranean that were drawn up to imprison us on the mainland.” Turkey has long claimed an area of the Mediterranean it names
Also in this section
1 August 2025
A number of companies have filed arbitration claims against Gazprom over non-deliveries of contracted gas or other matters—and won. The next step is to collect the award; this is no easy task but it can be done thanks to an international legal framework under the New York Convention.
1 August 2025
Europe’s refining sector is desperately trying to adapt to a shifting global energy landscape and nowhere is this more apparent than in its largest economy
1 August 2025
The Middle East natural gas playbook is being rewritten. The fuel source offers the region a pathway to a cleaner, sustainable and affordable means of local power, to fasttrack economic development and as a lucrative opportunity to better monetise its energy resources.
31 July 2025
TotalEnergies is an outlier among other majors for remaining committed to low-carbon investments while continuing to replenish and expand its ample oil and gas portfolio, with an appetite for high risk/high return projects.
