Events
Energy Issues in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea
On November 12, the Global Policy Institute (GPI) and Bay Atlantic University (BAU) held a round table discussion on Energy Issues in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, featuring noted energy and security experts Arnold Dupuy PhD, Assistant Adjunct Professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and Paul Michael Wihbey, Executive Director, Institute for the Geopolitics of Energy & Strategic Resources. Paolo von Schirach, President, Global Policy Institute moderated the event.
The two speakers explained how the Eastern Mediterranean has acquired a new strategic relevance on account of significant off-shore energy discoveries in Israel, Egypt and now Cyprus, with continuing exploration currently underway. There are significant natural gas reserves in the area and also some crude oil.
Still, mostly on account of the unresolved Cyprus issue, there are conflicting claims regarding territorial waters and exclusive economic zones. The speakers explained the complexities involved in finding agreement as to who has the right to explore and drill in specific areas, some of which have already been allocated via bidding processes to several global energy companies. On one side, Turkey and the Turkish-Cypriot government share a position on what belongs to whom. On the other side, the Greek-Cypriots, Greece and the European Union challenge some of these claims. In the middle of all this, there are several global energy companies (Total, ENI, Exxon Mobil, among others) looking for off shore gas that are challenged by different actors. The two speakers presented scenarios addressing how compromise could be struck, and how shared commercial interests may push the parties towards a workable consensus on these very complicated matters.
