Hydrocarbon reserves discovered with Cyprus` Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) could prove beneficial for both communities in the island and finance a settlement, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said.
A UN Spokesman read a statement after a meeting between UN SG and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, on Saturday, according to which during the meeting they exchanged views on ways of revitalizing the negotiations to find a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem and discussed the work of the bi-communal technical committees.
They also discussed hydrocarbons exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Ban recalled that these resources could prove very beneficial for both communities and finance a settlement.
Eroglu said after the meeting that he submitted a proposal on the hydrocarbon reserves.
Cyprus has signed an agreement to delineate its Exclusive Economic Zone with Egypt and Israel with a view to exploit any possible natural gas and oil reserves in its EEZ. A similar agreement has been signed with Lebanon but the Lebanese Parliament has not yet ratified it.
The first licensing round, concluded in 2007, resulted in granting concessions to Houston-based “Noble Energy” for exploratory drilling in Cyprus’ EEZ block 12.
Noble started drilling in September 2011 and the initial data that emerged from the exploratory drilling and the evaluation checks carried out indicate the existence of a natural gas reservoir ranging from 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet (tcf) with a gross mean of 7 tcf.
A second licensing round for companies interested to receive concessions for exploratory drillings in Cyprus EEZ was concluded last May, resulting in bids by fifteen companies and joint ventures.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied 37 per cent of its territory. Turkey, which does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus, has frozen its relations with the EU during the Cypriot EU Presidency.