(To Andrea pinto) Turkey signed a new agreement with Libya a few days ago for the exploitation in concession of gas and oil fields which ousted Italy and others player international from Libyan resources.
After the 2019 agreement signed by Erdogan and the then president of the Libyan presidential council at Serraj, Turkey and Libya have signed a new even more exclusive agreement, which grants Turkey the joint exploitation of the new fields identified, the construction of new refining plants and above all the transportation to Turkey and to other countries, via methane and oil pipelines, of gas and oil already exploited in Libya and those of new fields in the same waters that Greece, Egypt and Cyprus claim as part of their EEZs (Exclusive Economic Zones).
Michelle Mercuri was interviewed by ilussidiario.net. "So" he said Michelle Mercuri, professor of contemporary history of Mediterranean countries at the University of Macerata and expert in Libya, "Turkey completes the hegemonic plan on Libya started in 2019 with Tripoli's military support in the war against Cyrenaica. It is an agreement of extraordinary importance and of negative impact for Italy, which is guilty of having turned its back first on al Serraj and then on the whole of Libya, thus leaving Erdogan a free hand".
"The memorandum of understanding signed between Libya and Turkey", Adds Mercuri,"consists of two points. The first provides for the possibility for the Turkish side to carry out explorations in every corner of Libya, while the second point reaffirms what was established already in 2019, with the creation of an exclusive maritime corridor between Libya and Turkey that would also affect the coasts of Cyrenaica. The problem is that Cyrenaica is not under the control of the national unity government based in Tripoli. From this point of view, Haftar's silence is strange: it raises the doubt that this agreement could extend to Cyrenaica, despite the opposition of the Tobruk parliament. It is an ambiguous agreement, which contradicts international law ”.
"The current government of national unity has been appointed on an interim basis by the United Nations ahead of the elections, so it has a transitional role, could not sign this type of agreement which is valid for at least three years. The problem is that nobody knows when the elections will take place and therefore what the real limits of this government are. According to the UN, this government should carry out routine administration tasks pending the elections. However, if these elections do not take place soon, a short circuit is created which should be resolved at the level of the United Nations, but evidently the pressures from Turkey have been too strong ", stigmatizes Mercuti.
The latter is an extremely important agreement, because it gives Turkey that maritime projection it has always sought. But it also offers her a sort of “ius primae noctis” on the hydrocarbon question, because it involves not only drilling and exploration, but also the transport of Libyan oil. Paradoxically, we could end up buying Libyan oil from Turkey and this is a serious inattention not only of Italy, but of the entire international community. Not only that: Turkey has prepared investments for 28 billion euros in the reconstruction of Libya, it has a predominant role on the territory, at sea and in infrastructure.
Turkey has got its hands on Libya since 2019, replacing Italy. It was we who gave them free rein, completely disinterested in our former colony. If we wanted to get back into the game now, we would have to go knock on Erdogan's doors. We made a tragic mistake, because in foreign policy we look at all the scenarios on the pitch, and we started looking only at Ukraine. We will pay for it in terms of energy, migration and international importance. This agreement then has a geopolitical value. Turkey in the Mediterranean has always been isolated, while Greece, Cyprus and Israel have made cooperation agreements for the exploitation of energy resources. With this new agreement Ankara finds a way for a stronger position in the Mediterranean and a greater geopolitical value in the area.
The agreements of 2019 and the feeble reactions of the European countries
The Prime Minister of the Libyan National Accord Government, Fayez al Sarraj, in 2019, had asked Italy, the US, the United Kingdom, Algeria and Turkey to "activate the security cooperation agreements" for "repel the attack on Tripoli, carried out by any armed group". Sarraj had also asked the five countries to "Cooperate with the government of national agreement in the fight against terrorist organizations", illegal immigration and human traffickers.
The Italian position. “The solution to the Libyan crisis can only be political, not military. For this reason we continue to reject any kind of interference, promoting instead a stabilization process that is inclusive, intra-Libyan and that passes through diplomatic channels and dialogue.". Thus sources of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the aftermath of the letter sent by the Libyan president al Sarraj to Italy and other countries regarding the request for military aid.
Faced with the feeble European reaction, Turkey and Libya in November 2019 signed an agreement on a military collaboration which, as recalled by Erdogan, also provided for the possibility of a Turkish military intervention, in case of invitation. The agreement provided for the new delimitation of the respective ones Zee, the Exclusive Economic Zones in the Eastern Mediterranean. The agreement was then also ratified by the Turkish parliament while Erdogan warned that the operation carried out by his government together with that of Tripoli it was also perfectly lawful from the point of view of international law.
The Turkish Parliament in January 2020 also approved the sending of troops to Libyan soil in support of the GNA (Government of National Accord) in Tripoli while the conquest of Sirte by Haftar's forces took place. The Turkish president had declared that the objective of his military intervention "was not to fight" But say "support the legitimate government and avoid humanitarian tragedies ”.
"The agreement with Turkey - announced a spokesman for the Libyan executive - it officially entered into force "with the publication of the agreements in the Libyan Official Gazette". (beginning of 2020 ed).
"We are ready - stated the Turkish president in no uncertain terms - to carry out joint explorations with Libya in search of offshore hydrocarbons in the areas delimited by the memorandum of understanding".
With this move Turkey has, in fact, ousted Italy, France and other European countries from Libya, not only politically but also from a commercial and oil point of view.
Looking at a map of the eastern Mediterranean, the conformation of the new borders of the respective Zee appears at first glance one provocation. The agreement between Ankara and Tripoli could in fact create a Turkish - Libyan corridor capable of ousting the Greece on one side and Cyprus, Egypt ed Israel on the other, already active with the submarine gas pipeline EastMed.
Naturally, Ankara's need to safeguard its national interest, specifically that of energy, must be contextualized within a much broader foreign policy project aimed at strengthen its influence in both the Middle East and North Africa in a neo-Ottoman perspective.
THEXNUMX-XNUMX business days had reiterated what he had said three years earlier: "The EU recalls that its position on this Memorandum was clearly stated by the European Council in December 2019 and remains unchanged. The 2019 Memorandum of Understanding between Libya and Turkey violates the sovereign rights of third states, does not respect the Law of the Sea and cannot produce any legal consequences for third states".
"The EU is not an international judicial body that can comment or judge agreements between sovereign third countries. Any objection to an agreement signed by two sovereign states constitutes a violation of international law and fundamental principles of the UN”, Commented the spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry Tanju Bilgic in reference to the Brussels declarations on the new Memorandum.
Il US State Department had declared that the Provisional Government of National Unity of Libya has the obligation, set by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (the instance that approved the current Libyan institutions in February 2021), not to sign new agreements likely to disturb the country's foreign relations or which would translate into long-term obligations. "We invite all parties to refrain from actions that risk increasing tension in the eastern Mediterranean", a State Department spokesman said.
The response from Athens. "The Turkish-Libyan "memorandum" of 2019 is illegal, null and void. Therefore, no one has the right to invoke it ", so in a tweet the foreign minister Nikos Dendias.
In Libya, the signing of the new Memorandum was immediately opposed by Tripoli's opponents. Aguila Saleh, president of the House of Representatives (the so-called "parliament of Tobruk"), and Fathi Bashagha, head of the alternative government supported by the parliament of Cyrenaica, "branded" the agreement of 3 October 2019 as null, as it did the High Council of State (another transitional body). In a letter to the United Nations, Saleh had stated that the agreement is not binding on the Libyan state because the mandate of the government Interim based in Tripoli, headed by Abdulhamid Dabaiba, has expired. He warned that the agreement would destabilize the eastern Mediterranean. Bashagha deprecated it as a threat to peace and stability in Libya.
Opponents of Dabaiba say his term ended in December 2021 when Libya did not hold elections, as outlined in road map for United Nations-mediated peace. Furthermore, they claim, the road map does not authorize the government Interim of Dabaiba to conclude international agreements. Even the oil minister of the Dabaiba government, Moahamed Aoun, complained that he was sacked on the eve of the signing of the new memorandum, as he was doubtful of its contents. Aoun's proxies were transferred to the Minister of Economy Muhammad Al-Huwayj, who signed the Memorandum on the Libyan side together with the Foreign Minister Mrs Najla el Mangoush.
ENI, the last Italian bulwark
In August 2022, the Chief Executive Officer of Eni Claudio Descalzi, met in Rome with the President of the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) Farhat Omar Bengdara, to discuss Eni's activities in Libya and strategic projects. Claudio Descalzi confirmed to the President of the NOC Eni's commitment to operating activities in the country and the desire to launch a new phase of investments aimed at increasing gas production, leveraging the exploration potential and existing facilities that guarantee access to the domestic and European export markets. The Chief Executive Officer of Eni also welcomed NOC's plan to increase the country's daily production up to 2 million barrels of oil per day confirming Eni's support in achieving this goal. We also discussed the implementation of projects related to renewables in Libya.
Through the pipeline Green Stream the Libyan gas produced by Wafa and Bahr Essalam fields operated by Mellitah Oil & Gas, an operating company jointly owned by Eni and NOC, reaches Italy. The pipeline, consisting of a 520-kilometer line, crosses the Mediterranean Sea connecting the treatment plant of Mellitah on the Libyan coast with Gela in Sicily. The pipeline capacity amounts to approximately 8 billion cubic meters per year.
ENI's promotion of local development
The initiatives that ENI launches in the countries of presence leverage on a integrated approach involving local communities and partners to share with them skills e economic resources. In line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN we promote initiatives that contribute to improving access to energy, economic diversification, education and professional training, protection of the territory, access to water, sanitation and the improvement of health services for the communities. In Libya, in particular, we are engaged in initiatives aimed at guaranteeing the continuation of the supply of electricity by supporting the management of four plants, training staff, studying solutions with renewable energy and training on the safety of supply systems. We also work on improving the sector sanitary, with direct support interventions to health facilities and training of medical personnel. In 2021 we completed a series of initiatives in collaboration with the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) and with the National Oil Company (NOC), to strengthen sectors of electricity generation and transmission, including the supply of spare parts for the maintenance of the main power plants in the country, which guarantee around 3 GW for the needs of around 2 million households and the supply of almost all the gas necessary to power the power plants.
ENI's exploration and development program
ENI conducts its activities on an overall developed and undeveloped area of 26.636 square kilometers, of which 13.294 square kilometers are Eni's share. The exploration and development activity is grouped in 6 onshore and offshore contract areas. Eni's activities in Libya are regulated by Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) contracts. In 2021, Eni's share of production was 168 boe per day.
The Italian Defense in Libya
The Chief of Staff of the Libyan Army, the lieutenant general Mohamed Al-Haddad, met last June, the head of the Italian COVI, the general Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, the Italian ambassador to Libya, Joseph Buccino, and the accompanying delegation, at the headquarters of the Libyan Defense General Staff. This is learned in a note from Tripoli, which adds that the meeting was attended by the President of the Libyan-Italian Military Cooperation Committee, the Head of the Military Operations Authority and the Director of the Military Engineering Department.
La "Hippocrates" Task Force in Libya it was recently confirmed with about 200 soldiers maintaining its own health structure in the field, to provide assistance to the Italian military personnel who will continue to operate in Libya, in addition to the Mobile Training Team (Mtt) of trainers and trainers also in the health field. In recent weeks, following agreements between the Italian and Libyan authorities, the Italian Defense has ordered the return of a portion of medical-health personnel, vehicles and materials located in Misrata, with the consequent reconfiguration of the Italian military health presence from the Role2 to Role1, operation coordinated and conducted by the Joint Chief Operating Officer (Covi).