Cyprus-Forum.com

[bill cobbett]

Over the past few days we have seen...

In Block 12, the survey ship Ramform Sovereign carrying out survey work for the US/Israel Noble consortium.

In Block 9, the survey ship Princess doing ditto for the Italian-Korean grouping of ENI-KOGAS.

The GB reg'd survey ship Ocean Explorer in Block 11 for the French major TOTAL.

... oh and maybe no coincidence that the French Frigate Cassard is docked at L'sol.

The joke of a Turkish survey ship called something like Barbaric is going round in circles in the area between the Karpas and Turkey.

All info from marine traffic.com.

[Demonax]

Also activity surrounding Total's backing for an LNG plant in Cyprus:

MOU advances Cyprus LNG export prospects

The Republic of Cyprus and Total E&P Cyprus BV have signed a memorandum of understanding furthering prospects for LNG exports from the island.

This follows the award in February to Total of production-sharing contracts for Blocks 10 and 11 in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Cyprus (OGJ Online, Feb. 6, 2013).

The agreement, said the joint announcement, “records the support” of Total for monetization of potential natural gas reserves in the area through a “variety of options giving priority” to liquefaction and LNG export to European and Asian markets.

Specifically, the two parties will cooperate on the feasibility of an onshore LNG plant to be built at Vasilikos, Cyprus.
In June 2012, the Republic of Cyprus decided to begin work toward the LNG plant at Vasilikos, which will have initial export capacity of 5 million tonnes/year (tpy), expandable to 15 million tpy (OGJ, Apr. 5, 2010, p. 62)

In its decision in December 2012, the Council of Ministers assigned to the Cypriot National Hydrocarbons Co. continuation of negotiations with Noble Energy International Ltd. regarding specific agreements for the supply of natural gas to Cyprus from Block 12 and for establishing the LNG plant.

Noble leads groups that have discovered deepwater Aphrodite gas field off Cyprus and several fields in Israeli waters nearby, including giant deepwater Leviathan field, considered a candidate for development linked to an LNG project.

http://www.ogj.com/articles/2013/11/mou ... pects.html?

[Get Real!]

Talk about maritime activity:

ErdoCunt caught with his pants down again…


Greek coastguard halts ship carrying 20,000 Kalashnikovs, places Turkish captain in custody
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/greek- ... sCatID=351

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/ ... 4020131108

[Oceanside50]

The Greeks need to get off their asses….they haven't had this sort of geopolitical advantage since before the invasion of Smyrna...

[Demonax]

Now with Lebanon getting in on the act...

Cyprus and Lebanon to start negotiations for a production-sharing agreement

Cyprus and Lebanon have agreed to start negotiations immediately for a production-sharing agreement concerning their hydrocarbon resources.

Cyprus Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis and his Lebanese counterpart Gebran Bassil met in Nicosia to discuss hydrocarbon issues.

As Lakkotrypis stated after the meeting, “we have agreed to start the discussion and conclude it as soon as possible”.

“We are opening a new era of a good cooperation between Lebanon and Cyprus in oil and gas” said Bassil said from his part, adding that Lebanon could constitute a potential market for Cypriot gas.

http://famagusta-gazette.com/cyprus-and ... 289-69.htm

[bill cobbett]

From a few minutes ago on marinetraffic.com...

The "Polar Duke" has also put in an appearance in the CY EEZ, looks like it's in either Block 8 or 12.

It's a CY Reg'd survey ship, equipped with both streamers and sonic guns and owned by the Spanish firm Dolphin Geophysical.

It's being escorted by the Norway Reg'd tug "Ramco Star" on picket guard.

[bill cobbett]

This is a very glossy corporate video produced by Petroleum Geo Services which gives an idea of what these survey ships are doing in the CY EEZ.

PGS owns and operates the Ramform Sovereign, currently surveying in the CY EEZ.

(... also puts our much missed old friend the Sardine Trawler Piri Reis in to its proper Rust Bucket perspective)

[Oceanside50]

the technology being used is head and shoulders above whatever the Turks hope to have by using the Barbarian. It confirms that the Turks are bluffing and sulking at the thought that Cyprus' EEZ will benefit Europe for the next 80 years, while they are going around in circles in parts of the sea that doesn't belong to them and that no major corporation will offer them the technology to search for hydrocarbons

[bill cobbett]

the technology being used is head and shoulders above whatever the Turks hope to have by using the Barbarian. It confirms that the Turks are bluffing and sulking at the thought that Cyprus' EEZ will benefit Europe for the next 80 years, while they are going around in circles in parts of the sea that doesn't belong to them and that no major corporation will offer them the technology to search for hydrocarbons

Well, let's not underestimate this ship file, in the right hands the Barbaric is a very capable survey ship and may be working with a top-notch Norwegian crew but it will need massive computing power and expert analysis back on land to crunch the data and no major international corporation will touch data that's been gathered from the CY side without the leave of the Republic.

The indications are that the Barbaric is surveying on the Turkish side of the median line. At the mo it's buggered off back to a Turkish port.

[GreekIslandGirl]

Surely Turkey can pay whoever it wants to survey these waters but the people it pays know they are not going to do any extractions - they are just being paid to survey as a part of Turkey's PR exercises. That's rather different to the RoC's licensed explorations which will be fruitful if positive.