Cyprus to sell gas reserves by 2020
(CyprusMail 04/05/2013)
Cyprus expects to start selling its natural gas reserves around the year 2020, trade and energy minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said yesterday.
He was speaking at a press conference following a powwow held at the Presidential Palace, where he laid out to the President and the Cabinet a preliminary road map for the monetisation of natural gas believed to lie within Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone.
Lakkotrypis described the imminent appraisal drilling in Block 12 by Noble Energy as a “strong hand in a deck of cards,” adding it is the first step toward financing major infrastructure projects on the island, such as a planned LNG facility.
Cyprus hopes to draw investors to the mooted LNG plant as soon as its offshore gas reserves are confirmed. The commercial viability of the project will depend on the quantities of gas discovered.
The minister stressed also that it would be impractical for Cyprus to attempt a pre-sale of gas before the reserves are proved.
Αn estimated average of 7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas was discovered in late 2011 in the first well in Block 12.