The New Offshore Frontiers of EU Energy Security in the Mediterranean: The Politics of Hydrocarbon Development in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas

Abstract

Many EU Mediterranean countries are developing national plans for offshore hydrocarbon exploration and production. The transformation of the Mediterranean Sea into a new frontier for EU energy security has raised important concerns about the protection of the fragile marine ecosystem of this semi-enclosed sea. Additional issues have emerged where states’ boundaries at sea are not yet defined. This article analyses the emerging international and transnational politics of hydrocarbon development in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas by highlighting the main drivers and effects of the recent relaunch of offshore activities in this region.

Notes

1. The last important discovery was realized, in August 2015, by the Italian company ENI off the coast of Egypt. According to ENI the so-called Zohr gas field has a potential of 30 trillion cubic feet and is the largest gas discovery ever made in the Mediterranean Sea (see ‘Eni discovers a supergiant gas field in the Egyptian offshore, the largest ever found in the Mediterranean Sea’, ENI Press release, 30 August 2015).

2. In particular, offshore gas discoveries have fuelled problematic maritime disputes between Israel, Palestine and Lebanon and Turkey and the Republic of Cyprus (see also Khadduri, 2012).

3. Author’s elaboration from US Energy Information Administration statistics, available at: http://www.eia.gov/ (accessed 15 October 2015).

4. The Adriatic‒Ionian Initiative was launched at the conference on ‘Development and Security in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas’ held in Ancona, Italy in May 2000. This initiative was primarily intended as a means for strengthening regional cooperation among Adriatic coastal states and for fostering joint solutions to common problems essentially concerning security, stability and environmental protection.

5. See Correzione tecnica della linea di delimitazione Italia‒Croazia, Comunicato Ministeriale, 30 September 2005, Rome; Annamaria Integrated Development and Operating Agreement, 19 December 2006, Rome.

6. See Technical Agreement between the Ministry of Economic Development of the Italian Republic and the Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship of the Republic of Croatia on the Joint Exploitation of the Annamaria Gas Field in the Adriatic Sea, 1 June 2009, Rome.

7. See data available at http://www.akbn.gov.al/index.php/en/hydrocarbon/opportunities-for-exploration (accessed 10 September 2015).

8. Data concerning procedures and results of the Greek international licensing round and open-door invitation are available at http://www.ypeka.gr/Default.aspx?tabid=765&language=en-US (accessed 20 October 2015).

9. See ‘List of blocks per applicant First Bid Round for award of the Hydrocarbons Exploration and Production Concession Offshore Montenegro’, Government of Montenegro, Podgorica, 26 May 2014 Press release, available at http://www.petroleum.me/index.php?IDSP=232 (accessed 12 May 2016).

10. See ‘Government approves concession contracts for hydrocarbons research in offshore of Montenegro’, 4 February 2016, available at: http://www.gov.me/en/News/157325/utrfu.html (accessed 12 May 2016). To be effective the agreement must be also approved by the Parliament of Montenegro.

11. A chronological account of the main events regarding the arbitration process can be found at http://www.mvep.hr/en/other/termination-of-the-arbitration-process/ (accessed 12 May 2016).

12. In January 2016, Abruzzi reviewed its position and decided to not support the referendum further.

13. All the reports included in the Italian transboundary Strategic Environmental Assessment can be consulted at http://www.va.minambiente.it/it-IT/Oggetti/Documentazione/1540/2484?pagina=1#form-cercaDocumentazione (accessed from 15 August to 1 September 2015).

14. See the interview at the Croatian Ministry of Economy, ‘Offshore exploration will not endanger Croatia’s tourism, Minister of Economy says’, 2 April 2015, available at http://www.offshoreenergytoday.com/interview-offshore-exploration-will-not-endanger-croatias-tourism-minister-of-economy-says/ (accessed 2 November 2015).

15. According to the International Energy Agency, in 2015, global investments by energy companies in exploration and production have dropped by 20 per cent compared to 2014, a reduction that is one of the biggest decline in oil history (See ‘Cuts in global oil investment biggest ever this year: IEA chief’, 2 October 2015, available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-g20-energy-iea-idUSKCN0RW1AB20151002, accessed 14 May 2016).