Turkey said yesterday it would launch tenders in April for oil and gas exploration off its Mediterranean coast, an apparent response to a similar move by Cyprus.
«Next month, we will launch the farmout process for licenses we have for (areas off) Antalya, Mersin and the Gulf of Iskenderun... We are now preparing the technical groundwork,» Ahmet Faruk Oner, a senior official at the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) was quoted by the Anatolia news agency as saying.
«It means we will start looking for partners for the licenses,» he said. «We will begin the announcements next month.» Oner explained that the licenses covered areas in Turkey's 12-mile territorial waters and some areas «a little beyond.»
(AFP News, 29/03/2007)