Egypt sending message with plot prospecting
Egypt’s announcement that 12 plots will be available for hydrocarbon exploration is seen as a message of stability and the will for constructive relations with all players in the Eastern Mediterranean. Of these, 10 are in the Mediterranean and the first four have been demarcated in a way that also reflects some long-term trends in Egyptian foreign policy.
The message is also addressed to Ankara, as Plot 1 (El Fuka) is adjacent to the southern side of the boundary of the August 2020 Greek-Egyptian partial exclusive economic zone agreement.
Ankara considers the Greek side of the area to be within the Turkish continental shelf.
Similarly, two plots northeast of Egypt (plots 3 in the Simian gas field and 4 in western Zohr) follow the agreements signed by Cairo with Nicosia.
However, the most interesting aspect is the declaration of Plot 2 (Burg El Arab), which is situated in an undefined territory between Cyprus and the sea area south of Rhodes and Kastellorizo. According to reliable sources, the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has laid out the plot many kilometers south of the imaginary boundary line that Ankara regards as the dividing line of the Eastern Mediterranean between Turkey and Egypt. There is no agreement on demarcation in this area, with Turkey and Greece and the Republic of Cyprus holding opposing viewpoints.
Egypt’s definition of the plots is, first and foremost, a clear statement of respect for the agreements Cairo has already made, but it also signals that it is unwilling to stoke friction over areas of disagreement with neighboring countries. In fact, the message is intended not only for Ankara, but also for Athens and Nicosia, just two months after the Kasos crisis in the summer, which unfolded on the basis of an ongoing project, the Greece-Cyprus-Israel (GSI) electricity interconnection.
