Turkey intensifies Mediterranean gas operations as energy giants postpone
Ankara’s intensification of exploration and drilling activities will coincide with easing of pandemic restrictions, with Exxon Mobil, Eni, and Total suspending activities until next year.
Turkey is bucking the trend when it comes to offshore gas operations in the Eastern Mediterranean by intensifying exploration and drilling activities in the region.
Ankara’s move will coincide with the easing of pandemic restrictions rolling out in Turkey to help quell the outbreak of the coronavirus.
It comes as energy giants ExxonMobil, Total, and ENI, put a halt on their operations amid the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
Demand for oil and other hydrocarbons, such as natural gas, have tanked in recent months due to falling demand brought on by lockdowns implemented across the globe. The virus has caused a dramatic slowdown in both production and consumption, which have helped kill off demand.
The situation was further worsened by an
oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, in which the former increased its output in an attempt to lower prices to a level that would be unsustainable for the Russians.
Despite US President Donald Trump putting an end to the price war, markets have had to deal with a glut that sent WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude prices negative. Brent Crude is also trading low, at around $20 a barrel from a year start price of $69.
The current oversupply of energy and the likelihood that demand will further decline with the
global economic downturn likely to follow the easing of coronavirus-induced lockdowns makes energy extraction less lucrative and exploration particularly risky if deposits are not found or are not commercially viable.
Total and ENI have implemented suspensions that run into mid-2021 with some projects on hold until the following year.
https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/t...as-operations-as-energy-giants-postpone-36103
