Libya-Turkey energy pact triggers Greek warnings and redraws political map of the eastern Mediterranean
TRIPOLI — An agreement allowing Turkish firms to conduct multiple offshore seismic surveys in Libyan waters is fanning geopolitical tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, analysts say, reviving long-running disputes over energy rights and maritime boundaries.
Agreement targets offshore hydrocarbons
South Africa–based Energy Capital & Power and Azerbaijan’s News.az reported that the deal — signed earlier this month by Libyan authorities and Turkey — authorizes Turkish vessels to evaluate potential hydrocarbon reserves along Libya’s coast. Officials involved in the talks say the surveys will focus on untapped blocks thought to contain significant oil and gas deposits.
Seismic data could unlock fresh investment
Initial seismic results are expected “within months,” the outlets said, potentially paving the way for new exploration licenses and production-sharing contracts. The move dovetails with Ankara’s broader strategy to expand its footprint in eastern Mediterranean energy projects, where liquefied-natural-gas terminals and cross-border pipelines have become strategic chess pieces for regional powers.
Athens sounds the alarm
Greek officials blasted the accord as a direct provocation that threatens their maritime interests. “Even if Turkey backs Libya militarily, Greece must respond decisively; the operational advantages in the area are too important to ignore,” a Greek daily warned in comments cited by both reports. Athens argues that Ankara’s growing web of bilateral energy pacts risks undermining the fragile balance created by international maritime conventions.
Economic lifeline for Libya, leverage for Turkey
For Libya’s unity government, the partnership promises a badly needed revenue boost if political infighting does not derail implementation. Turkey, meanwhile, sees the deal as a gateway to broader regional cooperation — and increased leverage — in a market already crowded by European and Middle Eastern competitors.
Shadow of a new crisis
Analysts caution that the pact could ignite “a new crisis of oil, power and borders,” echoing past confrontations over gas fields near Cyprus. Any escalation, they warn, might complicate NATO dynamics, unsettle European energy diversification plans and further entrench rival camps in North Africa and the Levant.
The Libyan-Turkish agreement, still short on public details, has nonetheless widened the strategic fault lines of the eastern Mediterranean — a region where geology and geopolitics are increasingly intertwined.
