Turkey says deliveries of Greek Cyprus gas via Egypt unfeasible

A mulled option of delivering gas from Greek Cyprus via Egypt has been called unfeasible by Turkey’s energy minister, the state-run Anadolu agency reported on Saturday.

Late last month, Egyptian, Greek and Greek Cypriot leaders met to discuss the idea of delivering Greek Cyprus’s natural gas through Egypt.

“When declining oil prices and high cost of LNG [liquefied natural gas] are taken into consideration, I do not find this decision feasible for them. This decision represents only a political obstinacy,” Turkey’s energy and natural resources minister Taner Yildiz told reporters.

Yildiz added that the process of delivering gas through Egypt would be a decision taken purposefully so as not to route the natural gas via Turkey.

Continual tensions exist between Turkish-controlled Cyprus and Greek Cypriot part of the island, although the two sides are seeking to reconcile.

Turkey currently buys natural gas from six countries, with Russia being the most significant partner, and oil from eleven countries.

On Friday, Yildiz visited Turkmenistan, where he signed a deal for the gas-rich ex-Soviet state to route its gas through the Caspian sea, making Turkey a gateway to the gas reaching Europe by the next decade.