From Findings to Market: Perspectives and Challenges for the Development of Gas Resources in the East Med

Within the framework of the Global Turkey in Europe (GTE) project, IAI organised a workshop in Nicosia aimed at analysing the energy dynamics of the Eastern Mediterranean. The workshop, organised in collaboration with the Istanbul Policy Center (IPC) and Stiftung Mercator and with the participation of the PRIO Cyprus Centre, opened with a panel on the geopolitical and security developments of the region, where the Cyprus issue and the tensions between Turkey and Cyprus remain very difficult to solve. The dynamics and opportunities deriving from the energy sector, reawakening the political and industrial interest on an increasingly strategic region, were later on assessed. If on the one hand the gas identified in Cypriot, Egyptian and Levant waters in the last decade could support the economic development of the area and the decarbonisation of its energy system, on the other many geopolitical and industrial obstacles remain. The panellists put some potential options on the table and discussed them with the participants.

Report of the seminar “From Findings to Market - Perspectives and Challenges for the Development of Gas Resources in the East Med”, organised in Nicosia on 1 July 2019 by the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), Istanbul Policy Center (IPC) and Stiftung Mercator under the Global Turkey in Europe V programme.