Could the recent oil and gas discoveries in the Aegean Sea turn the region into the 'New Gulf'?

 Al Jazeera

Hundreds of billions of dollars worth of oil and gas are believed trapped under the seabed around Greece - enough to wipe out the country's debt for good.

But can they get to it? And who else is looking to get their hands on the energy bonanza?

Some experts say the recent discoveries of oil and gas in the Aegean Sea could turn the entire region into the 'New Gulf'. But where there is oil, there is usually some sort of conflict.

The country believes that it has at least $600bn worth of gas and oil reserves.

And the US Geological Society estimates there are around 22 billion barrels of oil in the Ionian Sea, off western Greece, and another 4 billion barrels in the northern Aegean Sea.

Turkey also has oil and gas in the area - its total reserves are estimated at about 20 trillion cubic feet.

There is an estimated 7 billion cubic feet of natural gas off the shore of the Greek-held part of Cyprus. In fact the eastern Mediterranean - surrounded by Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus - holds an estimated 1.7 billion barrels of oil and 122 trillion cubic feet of gas - enough to supply the world for a year.

Meanwhile, Israel has 33 trillion cubic feet of gas, which is worth about $670bn.

We look at how Greece may cancel its debt by tapping into these natual resources.

Source:  http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/countingthecost/2013/03/2013316112510773383.html?utm_content=automate&utm_campaign=Trial6&utm_source=NewSocialFlow&utm_term=plustweets&utm_medium=MasterAccount

Turkey bought a new seismic research vessel for oil and gas seismic exploration of the offshore continental shelf

Turkey's new seismic research vessel(old name is Polarcus samur) bought from Norwegian Palarcus Company. Vessel named as Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa

Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) plans to use the 3D vessel to conduct extensive seismic exploration of the offshore continental shelf of Turkey in both the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Through this collaboration arrangement Polarcus will assist TPAO to significantly improve its understanding of the offshore continental shelf of Turkey, potentially opening up several new provinces for future exploration activity, and also position the Company for prime access to this important emerging market.

Vessel docked at Istanbul today.

Turkey reached important strategic element on oil and natural gas research and exploration dispute on eastern mediterranean and aegean sea against the Israel, Greek Cyprus and Greece with this new seismic research vessel.

New Seismic vessel also important element in new offshore energy exploration projects on Turkey's exclusive economic zone.

Turkey signed a deal last year for contruction of another seismic research vessel http://www.ssm.gov.tr/home/projects/Sayfalar/proje.aspx?projeID=32

Second seismic research vessel construction deal signed for MTA (Mineral Research & Exploration General Directorate) http://www.mta.gov.tr/v2.0/daire-baskanliklari/deniz/index.php?id=yeni-gemi-duyuru

Specifications of the Vessel Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa

8 streamer ARCTIC-READY 3D/4D seismic vessel

Turkey, Greece wary of territorial waters claims

H.K. Tzanis             SETimes 

Both countries appear poised to keep discussing the potential dispute amid reports that Greece may unilaterally claim an exclusive economic zone.

Recent and highly publicised gas finds in the eastern Mediterranean between Israel and Cyprus, coupled with cash-strapped Greece's eagerness to better exploit natural resources, has thrust the question of exclusive economic zones into the spotlight.

Over the past couple years Athens and Ankara have moved to mend once tense relations despite long-entrenched opposing views on sea rights in the Aegean. But recent reports in Greek media that the country is preparing to unilaterally delimitate the zones carries the potential for friction.

Turkey's chief foreign affairs official insists, however, that the two countries have "channels" to discuss and deal with any dispute.

At the crux of Athens' standing position on maritime jurisdictions is the landmark UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, of which Greece and all EU member-states are signatories, but Turkey is not.

The convention, in force since 1994, recognises nations' rights to extend their territorial waters up to 12 nautical miles (22 kilometres) and an exclusive economic zone up to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) from a defined coastal baseline. To date, neither Turkey nor Greece have officially claimed an economic zone or extended their territorial waters to the full 12 miles in the Aegean.

The New Mediterranean Oil and Gas Bonanza Part II: Rising energy tensions in the Aegean—Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria

F. William Engdahl      Global Research

The discovery in late 2010 of the huge natural gas bonanza off Israel’s Mediterranean shores triggered other neighboring countries to look more closely at their own waters. The results revealed that the entire eastern Mediterranean is swimming in huge untapped oil and gas reserves. That discovery is having enormous political, geopolitical as well as economic consequences. It well may have potential military consequences too.

Preliminary exploration has confirmed similarly impressive reserves of gas and oil in the waters off Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and potentially, Syria.

Greek ‘energy Sirtaki’ 

Not surprisingly, amid its disastrous financial crisis the Greek government began serious exploration for oil and gas. Since then the country has been in a curious kind of a dance with the IMF and EU governments, a kind of “energy Sirtaki” over who will control and ultimately benefit from the huge resource discoveries there. 

In December 2010, as it seemed the Greek crisis might still be resolved without the by-now huge bailouts or privatizations, Greece’s Energy Ministry formed a special group of experts to research the prospects for oil and gas in Greek waters. Greece’s Energean Oil & Gas began increased investment into drilling in the offshore waters after a successful smaller oil discovery in 2009. Major geological surveys were made. Preliminary estimates now are that total offshore oil in Greek waters exceeds 22 billion barrels in the Ionian Sea off western Greece and some 4 billion barrels in the northern Aegean Sea. [1] 

Greece Is Not Poor - It Actually Has Massive Uptapped Reserves Of Gold, Oil And Natural Gas

By Michael

It turns out that the poster child for the European debt crisis is not actually poor at all.  In fact, the truth is that the nation of Greece is sitting on absolutely massive untapped reserves of gold, oil and natural gas.  If the Greeks were to fully exploit the natural resources that are literally right under their feet, they would no longer have any debt problems.  Fortunately, this recent economic crisis has spurred them to action and it is now being projected that Greece will be the number one gold producer in Europe by 2016. 

In addition, Greece is now opening up exploration of their massive oil and natural gas deposits.  Reportedly, Greece is sitting on hundreds of millions of barrels of oil and gigantic natural gas deposits that are worth trillions of dollars.  It is truly sad that Greece should be one of the wealthiest nations in all of Europe but instead the country is going through the worst economic depression that it has experienced in modern history.  It is kind of like a homeless man that sleeps on the streets every night without realizing that a relative has left him an inheritance worth millions of dollars.  Greece is not poor at all, and hopefully the people of Greece can learn the truth about all of this wealth and chart a course out of this current mess.

I have written extensively about the nightmarish economic conditions that Greece is experiencing right now.  Just check out this article, this article and this article.  Since the depression began in Greece, the Greek economy has contracted by more than 20 percent.  In April 2010, the unemployment rate in Greece was only 11.8 percent.  Since then it has skyrocketed to 25.1 percent.

Turkey and Greece: Time to Settle the Aegean Dispute

INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP - NEW BRIEFING

Istanbul/Brussels, 19 July 2011: To capitalise on twelve years of normalisation, and at a time when both could benefit from a foreign policy success, Greece and Turkey should settle their expensive, outdated and stressful stand-off over Aegean Sea maritime zones and related issues.

Turkey and Greece: Time to Settle the Aegean Dispute, the latest International Crisis Group policy briefing, identifies favourable circumstances for resolving the long-standing issues. While Ankara fears losing access to open seas and the Aegean continental shelf, and Athens worries about the security of hundreds of its islands, continuing deadlock is costly for both. Greece, in financial crisis, needs to reduce a disproportionate military budget. Turkey’s new government, elected with a strong majority in June, needs to ensure its neighbour’s stability and further assert itself as a responsible regional player. 

“The dispute is far more about the domestic politics and psychology of Greece and Turkey than real security concerns”, says Didem Akyel, Crisis Group’s Turkey/Cyprus Analyst. “Lack of political will to let go of maximalist positions and confront popular opinion with compromises has kept the negotiations in the starting blocks”.