“This summer we will be making our first drilling in the Mediterranean”, said Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albairak, while he also announced that the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP) will be operational on 12 June.

“Turkey will start with its own resources its first drilling for oil and gas in the Eastern Mediterranean before the end of the summer”, he stated according to the Anadolu agency.

The Minister stressed that great efforts are being made to ensure that “momentum” is not lost for these surveys. In his statements, Mr Albairak did not specify the precise point in the Mediterranean where the drilling will take place.

Cyprus is following the developments closely 

The Turkish announcements show Ankara’s willingness to raise the tensions in the region. That is why the Cypriot government is constantly evaluating the situation.

Nicosia notes that the DeepSea Metro 2 drilling platform, recently bought by Turkey, is not operational yet.

However, the same sources do not rule out the possibility of Turkey’s actions to taking place in early July when the Cypriot government will sign the agreement with Egypt on the supply of Cypriot natural gas.

Another possibility is that Turkish drilling will begin simultaneously with the drilling of Exxon Mobil on plot 10 of the Cypriot EEZ.