OIL exploration off Cyprus could take years before yielding definitive proof of the existence of hydrocarbons, President Tassos Papadopoulos has said in his first comment on the oil and gas row.
Papadopoulos made the statement in an interview published in Greek newspaper To Vima on Sunday.
“Any possibly positive results will not be seen for six, seven years. I am sure that a fair and viable Cyprus settlement can be found a lot earlier,” Papadopoulos told the newspaper.
Turkey has been raising the ante on the issue of oil and gas exploration off Cyprus since the government signed a deal with Lebanon last month delineating exclusive economic zones.
Earlier this month, Turkey, in a carefully orchestrated move, let it be known that it had warships patrolling the eastern Mediterranean and that it would not accept any exploration to go ahead.
The government plans to open tenders for offshore licensing accords for 11 of 13 blocks on Thursday. There is believed to be a lot of interest from large potential foreign investors.
Previous studies have suggested the seas around Cyprus could contain reserves of between six and eight billion barrels of crude with an estimated value of up to $400 billion.
Authorities say preliminary data give “encouraging signs” of hydrocarbons on the Mediterranean seabed, but that deep-sea drilling will be required to plumb at depths of up to three kilometres.
“It could take two or three years of research to determine if there are reserves, and if they are commercially viable. It would then take another two to three years to bring it to the surface and then some additional time to broker trade deals,” Papadopoulos told To Vima.
He said Cyprus was not considering similar accords with Greece, and said that a deal with Israel, one of its closest neighbours, was legally complex because of the existence of the Palestinian Authority.
“We will see which companies are interested first… from then on, the procedure of granting oil exploration rights will be covered by EU regulations,” Papadopoulos said.
Papadopoulos told reporters in Cyprus on Sunday that his meeting next week in Athens with Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis had been scheduled long before the row blew up with Turkey over the exploration.
“Of course we will discuss all current issues, but it is wrong to say that the meeting is due to the oil issue,” he said.
Asked about the Vima interview and Turkey’s reactions, Papadopoulos said: “There is no point of sending a message. The Cyprus government is exercising its sovereign rights according to international law and the practice followed in such cases. Nothing more, nothing less.”
