Sharing hydrocarbons in the Eastern Mediterranean: Greek-Cypriot & Turkish-Cypriot narratives

During the past few years, the Republic of Cyprus has been licensing foreign oil & gas giants to explore and develop the hydrocarbon reserves in its exclusive economic zone. The Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots remain separated, but the UN as well as global powers consider that there must be a fair hydrocarbon benefit sharing among the two communities. The Greek-Cypriots do not object to this principle and have proposed the creation of a special escrow account where the Turkish-Cypriots’ share shall be deposited and transferred to them upon the island’s political unification into one state. This paper examines the efforts of the Turkish-Cypriot Community to avoid this type of arrangement and adopt a new one that safeguards their early participation in the whole project. The paper employs a qualitative method using daily Turkish-Cypriot and Turkish media digital reports to track these efforts and present the narrative in light of competing geopolitical interests in the Eastern Mediterranean. The evidence shows that both sides consider hydrocarbon exploration as a vital tool for their economic and political survival and hold on to their different positions. Turkey’s geopolitical game in the Eastern Mediterranean, however, may in fact harm the Turkish-Cypriots’ interests. Thus, only a package that would be solving simultaneously the Cyprus problem and hydrocarbon sharing appears to be the appropriate tool for sustainable peace and change on the island.