Gas decision within weeks

 

THE GOVERNMENT will make a decision on the supply of natural gas to Cyprus in the coming weeks, the Minister of Commerce Antonis Paschalides said yesterday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 2nd International Bicycle Tour of Larnaca, the minister said: “Within the next few weeks and provided we have all data before us, we will be able to make the wisest decision on the matter which will be in the public interest.”

Asked whether the political situation in Egypt will affect Cyprus’ decision on how to exploit its hydrocarbon reserves, Paschalides said the government has already signed an agreement with Egypt on their Exclusive Economic Zone, noting that there exists excellent cooperation between the two countries.

On Thursday, Energy Service head Solon Kassinis said that executives of the US firm Noble Energy will arrive on the island this week to outline their plan for extracting natural gas believed to exist in the licensed Cypriot plots.

Noble has been granted a concession to prospect for hydrocarbons in Cypriot waters close to Israel’s Leviathan field, one of the world’s largest offshore gas finds of the past decade.

Based on Noble’s presentation, the Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA) will advise the president who has the option of launching a second round of licensing for hydrocarbon exploration.

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.