Greeks vent fury over soldiers being 'held hostage' in Turkey

Defence minister says arrests have aggravated already strained ties between two countries

The Guardian

Protesters have taken to the streets of northern Greece demanding the release of two Greek soldiers detained by Turkey, amid rising tensions between the two countries.

Greece’s defence minister, Panos Kammenos, described the pair as “hostages” and ordered border patrols to be stepped up along the heavily defended land frontier the two nations share.

Sgt Dimitris Kouklatzis, 27, and Lt Angelos Mitretodis, 25, were seized 11 days ago after allegedly being found in a “forbidden military zone” deep in Turkish territory. The soldiers say they inadvertently strayed across the frontier in bad weather.

Last week a court in the Turkish border town of Edirne, where the two are being held in a high-security prison, rejected a plea for their release pending further investigation.

Turkey slams Cyprus for gas search, blocks rig with warships

Cyprus was split into an internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north in 1974.
The ministry said the Cyprus government was acting like "the sole owner of the island" and warned it would be responsible for any consequences.
Published 6:02 AM ET Sun, 11 Feb 2018

CNBC

Turkey's foreign ministry has criticized Cyprus for a "unilateral" offshore hydrocarbons search after Turkish warships prevented a rig from reaching an area off Cyprus where it's to start exploratory drilling for gas.

Greece launches new offshore oil and gas tenders

AUGUST 7, 2017 / 3:38 PM / 15 MINUTES AGO

Reuters

ATHENS, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Greece launched two tenders on Monday for offshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation in the west and south of the country, the energy ministry said.

The move follows expressions of interest by a consortium of Total, Exxon Mobil and Hellenic Petroleum for exploration in two sites off the island of Crete, and by Greece's Energean for a block in the Ionian Sea in western Greece.

UPDATE 1-Greece names Total-led consortium preferred bidder for offshore gas drilling

Wed Oct 26, 2016 | 1:05pm BST

Reuters

Oct 26 Greece named on Wednesday a consortium of France's Total, its biggest oil refiner Hellenic Petroleum and Italy's Edison as the preferred bidder for an offshore gas drilling block in the west of the country.

Greece, which signed up to a third bailout last summer, has made several fruitless attempts over the last 50 years to find big oil and gas reserves. Its debt crisis and important findings in neighbouring countries has prompted the country to step up those efforts.

Forget fracking. Choking and lifting are latest efforts to stem U.S. shale bust

Thu Mar 10, 2016 2:32am EST Related: GLOBAL ENERGY NEWS
BY SWETHA GOPINATH AND AMRUTHA GAYATHRI

Reuters

Something is awry in the beleaguered U.S. shale patch: older wells, which normally gush oil or natural gas in their first few months before rapidly depleting, are not petering out as quickly as they should.

When oil prices began falling a year and a half ago in the deepest rout in a generation, many analysts expected U.S. crude production, especially from fracking in the new shale plays that contributed to a global supply glut, to follow quickly.

Turkey, Greece to Develop Economic Ties Despite Differences

Renewed Tensions Over Gas Fields Off Cyprus

The Wall Street Journal

By STELIOS BOURAS

Dec. 6, 2014 8:22 a.m. ET

ATHENS—Greece and Turkey confirmed Saturday their commitment to developing economic ties between the two countries but admitted to disputes over energy and Cyprus separating the two sides.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Saturday wound up a two-day trip to the Greek capital Athens where he attended a forum on confidence-building measures between the two countries that have nearly gone to war three times in the last four decades.

How Real Is Greece's Oil And Gas Future?

Forbes

If you’ve been watching Greece’s recent energy push lately, it’s been difficult not to get too excited about the country’s potential. From political commentators to Prime Minister Antonis Samaras himself, the message has been enthusiastic and clear – Greece is home to billions of barrels of oil, trillions of cubic meters of gas and most importantly for a country saddled with the longest recession in modern history, billions in potential revenue.

Greece Is Not Poor; Has Abundance Of Uptapped Reserves Of Gold, Oil And Natural Gas

October 15th, 2012

Michael Snyder: It turns out that the poster child for the European debt crisis is not actually poor at all.  In fact, the truth is that the nation of Greece is sitting on absolutely massive untapped reserves of gold, oil and natural gas.  If the Greeks were to fully exploit the natural resources that are literally right under their feet, they would no longer have any debt problems.