The next round of drilling, starting with the confirmation drilling of ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum in block 10, as well as the quantities of natural gas will largely determine the speed and the way of exploitation of hydrocarbons in the Cypriot EEZ, said Minister Energou and Industry Natasa Pileidou, noting that at the same time Cyprus is moving its plans towards a green transition.
Speaking at the 9th Energy Symposium, held in Nicosia, Ms. Pileidou also expressed the assessment that natural gas can not be removed as a transitional fuel, as the green transition progresses.
The ExxonMobil Qatar Petroleum consortium is expected to carry out confirmatory drilling at the Glafkos target in December, where initial estimates put the field at between 5 and 8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
“The new round of exploratory drilling which is expected to start at the end of the year with the drilling of ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum in block 10 is something we expect with high expectations or with impatience because surely the amount of hydrocarbons in our blocks will greatly increase. the speed and the way in which the hydrocarbons will be utilized in the Cypriot EEZ “, said Mrs. Pileidou.
He noted that gas prices, especially in the EU, have risen sharply and are expected to continue to rise. to go through some stages and therefore there are important opportunities for Cyprus “.
However, Ms. Pileidou acknowledged that “certainly the landscape has changed now”, noting that the green agreement puts special pressure on us to make our goals more ambitious and this is something we must take into account in our planning with reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from 40% to 55%.
“We expect more information from the European Commission and a study is being done together with Imperial College and the international organization for RES (Irena), in order to determine the objectives based on the scenarios, such as whether there will be an electrical interconnection, the possibility of energy storage, adoption of green practices “, he added.
However, Ms. Peleidou referred to a holistic approach to the green transition, emphasizing the importance of the funds of the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan.
PtB: Intense steps needed to stop Turkish provocations in EEZ
In her greeting, Parliament Speaker Annita Dimitriou said that Cyprus is a key point on the energy map and given its geographical strategy is called to play a catalytic role in energy events in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region and becomes an EU energy pillar in energy. He also stressed the importance of taking cooperation initiatives and implementing the particularly important agreements concluded with Greece, Israel and Lebanon.
“Regional energy cooperation on the basis of maritime law and good neighborly principles is a very important factor in tackling the instability, conflicts and conflicts that have plagued our region over time, especially in recent years,” he added.
At this point, Ms. Dimitriou stressed that “any attempt by Turkey to undermine the strategic cooperation of Cyprus on energy issues by challenging the sovereignty of the Republic within the Cyprus EEZ requires more intense steps towards the international community to react vigorously to stop the threats and of illegal actions in the territorial waters, in the EEZ and the continental shelf of the Republic of Cyprus “.
At the same time, as the green transition is increasingly affecting energy, the President of the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) Andreas Poullikkas said that the Authority has included in its strategic energy objectives related to the energy transition, such as the supervision and continuous regulation of competitive the emerging gas market, the implementation of a regulatory framework for the EU Green Agreement and the adjustment to the 55% EU target, the well-known Fit for 55 legislative package.
Dimitris Fessas, Deputy General Manager of the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company (EYC), said that through the strategic framework for hydrocarbons, Cyprus has managed to attract the largest companies “which provides an additional vote in our potential to become a hydrogen producer”. adding that since the first round of drilling to date, more than $ 1.5 billion has been spent by the licensees on the progress of their activities. As he said, the drillings so far led to three important discoveries, in Aphrodite, in Calypso and Glafkos.
Mr. Fessas stressed that natural gas will play an important role in the energy transition, replacing coal and oil and significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions and will help the penetration of renewable energy sources.
He also said that natural gas itself can become neutral in terms of emissions if its production and use is combined with carbon capture, use and storage (carbon capture, utilization and storage).
He also said that Cyprus, which has an EEZ that is ten times its land area, has a lot of potential in terms of the development of offshore RES, which is promoted by the EU in the context of the energy transition.
During the symposium, Symeon Kassianidis, President of the Public Natural Gas Company, informed about the progress of the project for the arrival of liquefied natural gas in Cyprus, through the floating gas storage and regeneration terminal (FSRU), emphasizing that the capital investments needed for the project. He also said that work has begun on the conversion of the floating terminal which has been renamed ETYFA / Prometheus.
“The benefits from the terminal and the import of liquefied natural gas are multiple and it is a project that will change and lead to the end of the energy isolation of Cyprus, will enrich energy sources, will increase the penetration of RES in the energy mix, ensures “Supply security and will reduce costs and there will be environmental and technological benefits,” he said.
George Papanastasiou, CEO and General Manager of VTT Vasiliko, the fuel terminal in Vasiliko, said that in the context of the green transition, the VTTI group will move to cleaner solutions and is already working on products with cleaner combustion, such as natural gas and hydrogen, even in the storage of electricity from green energy production. In this context, he said that phase two of the terminal in Vasiliko, which was originally concerned with the storage of fuel oil, will be done for storage of green energy, perhaps biofuels, or natural gas and perhaps hydrogen, after the group has permanently abandoned fuel oil.
At the same time, Kostis Stampolis of the Southeast European Energy Institute said that as high gas prices are expected to remain for a long time, if Cyprus, Greece, Egypt and Israel join forces they could become the EU's second supply pole. The region said it could have a potential of up to 200 billion cubic meters (dcm), while Europe consumes 440 dcm, he said.
Konstantinos Nikolaou, Vice President of the Greek Energean, also opened fire on the EU decisions regarding the green transition. “There is a tendency to go directly to renewable energy sources, while a special anti-emission tax is being introduced,” he said, adding that these moves “led us to the energy crisis with very high electricity prices throughout our region.”
“Egypt and Israel continue to explore for hydrocarbons that ensure security of supply, lead to more energy independence, unlike Europe. “As a result, energy contracts in the EU are rising dramatically, in contrast to Israel, which remains consistently low,” he said.
Foivos Stasopoulos, Senior Banking Director of Hellenic Bank said that a key pillar of the Hellenic Bank's strategy is to lead the transition to a green economy. He said that in 2020 the bank supported Renewable Energy production projects through loans totaling € 101 million, financing one of the most important wind farms in Cyprus and many other similar green energy projects.
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