State-owned oil firm Turkish Petroleum has submitted an application to start drilling in parts of the eastern Mediterranean outlined in the country’s contentious maritime borders agreement with the Libyan government in Tripoli, Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez said on Thursday, according to the Greek Kathimerni daily.
In an interview with the state-run Anadolu news agency, Dönmez said Turkey’s gas and oil exploration plans will proceed as foreseen by the Nov. 27, 2019 agreement, which seeks to create an exclusive economic zone from Turkey’s southern Mediterranean shore to Libya’s northeast coast.
Cyprus, Egypt and Greece have all condemned the Libyan-Turkish deal as contravening international law.
Dönmez also said Turkey plans to drill in the Black Sea for the first time, starting in July.