Offshore drilling to start sooner

Exploratory drilling offshore Cyprus is expected to begin sooner than originally scheduled as more natural gas reserves had to be found before proceeding with plans for a liquefied natural gas terminal on the island, Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said on Thursday.

“Right now, what is important is to find more gas and for this reason we are trying to accelerate the exploratory drilling procedure inside Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),” he said. “I hope that we will start exploratory activities in the summer, rather than by the end of the year as was originally planned, to have a fuller picture of the confirmed natural gas reserves.”

Hydrocarbon exploration in the south-eastern Mediterranean is expected to be at the top of the agenda during meetings Lakkotrypis will be having on Friday in Lebanon.

Minister departs for Beirut tonight and returns tomorrow.

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.