Turkey rattles sabres over Cypriot natural gas drilling

The Cypriot president, Demetris Christofias, insists the smaller and less affluent Turkish Cypriot community can share the potential hydrocarbon bounty once there is a deal to reunify the island. He has accused Turkey of being a regional "troublemaker".

The energy row coincides with a major drive by the United Nations to reunite Cyprus by the middle of next year when the island assumes the rotating EU presidency.

The former British colony was split by a Turkish invasion in 1974 that was triggered by a brief coup in Nicosia engineered by the military junta then ruling Greece.

The Cypriot government said this week it would keep Turkey’s faltering EU accession talks on hold for as long as Ankara challenges its right to exploit energy resources.

Turkey, disillusioned with the EU after receiving the cold shoulder for years, declared yesterday that it would freeze relations with the European club if a still-divided Cyprus is given the EU presidency in July.

If so, "the real crisis will be between Turkey and the EU", warned Turkey’s deputy prime minister, Besir Atalay.

The Aphrodite field – more prosaically known as Block 12 – where Noble is about to drill could hold some 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, Cypriot officials say.

It is more than enough to meet Cyprus’s domestic needs, leaving a healthy surplus for the lucrative export market.

Block 12 is a mere 50 kilometres from Israel’s Leviathian gasfield, where Noble has confirmed gas reserves of 16 trillion cubic feet.

Cyprus sees itself playing a key role in a new regional energy equation involving Israel, Greece, and, in the event of a Cyprus settlement, Turkey.

Ankara in recent days has indicated one way it might respond if the Greek Cypriots proceed with drilling.

It warned it would sign a pact with the Turkish Cypriot state for hydrocarbon exploration in waters between Turkey and northern Cyprus.

"This threat was mostly a symbolic way for Turkey to hit back at the Greek Cypriots without directly challenging the US," said Hubert Faustmann, a political analyst at the University of Nicosia.

"Drilling in waters where there may be no oil or gas could be a very expensive way to make a point." Confidential US diplomatic cables leaked by WikiLeaks revealed that Turkey tried unsuccessfully in 2007 to dissuade Noble from co-operating with the Greek Cypriots.

The US company was warned that it "could never expect to do business with Turkey" if it proceeded.