As widely expected, ExxonMobil said on Thursday that it had made a natural gas discovery southwest off Cyprus, which Cypriot authorities hailed as the largest find offshore the eastern Mediterranean island to date. Exxon has been expected for a few weeks to announce that its drilling campaign offshore the southern coast of the divided island of Cyprus has resulted in a major gas discovery, potentially reigniting tension between Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean. Turkey, which recognizes the northern Turkish Cypriot government and doesn’t have diplomatic relations with the internationally recognized government of Cyprus, claims that part of the Cyprus offshore area is under the jurisdiction of Turkish Cypriots or Turkey. In a statement on Thursday, Exxon said that based on preliminary interpretation of data at the Glaucus-1 well, the natural gas discovery could represent an in-place natural gas resource of around 5 trillion to 8 trillion […]