Turkey Friday threatened reprisals against companies bidding for oil and gas drilling projects off Cyprus , in the latest spat between Ankara and the island's internationally recognized government.

"The companies...which cooperate with GKRY (the Greek Cypriot administration) will not be included in energy projects in Turkey in the future," the foreign ministry said.

Turkey 's strong warning came after the Cyprus government--which isn't recognized by Ankara -- said 29 companies had made 15 bids for exploratory drilling in a second round of licensing to exploit offshore oil and gas deposits.

A final decision is expected to be taken by the Cypriot government within the next six months on the tenders which cover 12 out of a total 13 blocks.

The Turkish foreign ministry called on the countries and companies concerned to act with "common sense" and withdraw from the bidding.

"Despite our warnings, companies cooperating with GKRY on natural gas by ignoring the Turkish Cypriots' rights will cause tensions in the region and the companies in question will be responsible for it," it said.

The ministry said it has also contacted the countries concerned "through diplomatic channels" to convey Turkey 's concerns.

Bids were submitted to Cyprus from 10 consortia and five companies from 15 countries. Among the companies were Total SA (TOT) of France, Petronas Gas Bhd (6033.KU) of Malaysia, KOGAS of South Korea, Delek Group Ltd. (DGRLY) of Israel, ATP Oil & Gas Corp. (ATPG) of the U.S., Novatek (NVTK.RS) of Russia, Petra Petroleum Inc. (PTL.V) of Canada and Vitol Holding of the U.K.

U.S. firm Noble Energy Inc. (NBL), which was awarded the remaining block, said last year it had discovered gas reserves of up to 8 trillion cubic feet (226 billion cubic meters) with an estimated value of EUR100 billion ($127 billion).

This would satisfy the eastern Mediterranean island's domestic gas needs for decades.

Turkey has protested strongly against the Cypriot government's search for offshore oil and gas.

It says the exploration is an abuse of the rights of Turkish Cypriots to the same resources and has retaliated by launching its own exploratory drilling in the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus .

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third in response to an Athens-engineered coup

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