Cyprus said on Saturday that it had an open line of communication with Italy after the Saipem 12000 drillship of energy giant ENI was reportedly forced to halt its course to Block 3 of the island’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) by Turkish warships. Ankara claims that large part of Cyprus’s EEZ is part of its continental shelf and repeatedly warned Nicosia not take unilateral actions in the area. Source Ekathimerini
Exxon Mobil has evacuated all of its foreign staff from Iraq’s West Qurna 1 oilfield and is flying them out to Dubai, a senior Iraqi official and three other sources told Reuters on Saturday. Source: Reuters
The latest round of tax cuts and handouts announced by the Greek government mean that Europe’s most indebted state will probably miss an agreed target for a budget surplus excluding interest payments, the head of the euro-area’s crisis fund said. The shortfall will deteriorate further next year, Klaus Regling warned after a meeting of the bloc’s finance ministers in Brussels. Source: Bloomberg
A tanker carrying Iranian fuel oil in violation of U.S. sanctions has unloaded the cargo into storage tanks near the Chinese city of Zhoushan, according to ship tracking data on Refinitiv Eikon. Source: Reuters
