Theano Thiopoulou
The challenges facing Cyprus in the fields of electricity and renewable energy, concerns about the international energy crisis and information on the issue of hydrocarbon exploration in the Cyprus EEZ were announced and discussed at the 9th energy symposium held in Nicosia, which was attended by 20 speakers and many other listeners / viewers.
One of the most interesting speeches of the symposium was that of the Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry Natasa Pileidou. He acknowledged that “the landscape has changed”, noting that the (EU) green agreement puts a lot of pressure on us to make our goals more ambitious and that this is something we need to take into account in our emission reduction planning. greenhouse gases from 40% to 55% “. The big issue of gas prices could not be absent from the minister's speech, which is of particular concern to Europe, but also to the whole planet. “If gas prices, which have skyrocketed in the EU, continue to rise, it means that natural gas cannot be eliminated (from the energy mix), as some EU countries claim, and the green transition must go through “Some stages and therefore there are important opportunities for Cyprus,” he said.
Regarding the country's energy plans, he announced that the drill of the ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum consortium will enter plot 10 of the Cypriot EEZ next December. Initial estimates for the deposit at the “Glafkos” target, from the first drilling, speak of an amount between 5 and 8 trillion. cubic feet of gas. As Ms. Pileidou clarified, “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 the quantity is definitely of hydrocarbons in our pieces will largely determine the speed and the way in which the hydrocarbons will be utilized in the Cypriot EEZ “.
Energy transition
In his speech, the President of the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) Andreas Poullikkas said that the Authority has included in its strategic energy objectives, which concern the energy transition, the supervision and continuous regulation of the competitive market, the emerging gas market, the implementation of a regulatory framework for the EU Green Agreement and adjustment to the 55% EU target, the well-known legislative package Fit for 55.
The Deputy General Manager of the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company (EYK) Dimitris 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 helping to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Benefits of the terminal
“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 the energy sources, will increase the penetration of RES in the energy mix, will ensures the security of supply, will lead to cost reduction and there will be environmental and technological benefits “, said in his speech Symeon Kassianidis, president of the Public Natural Gas Company.
Cleaner solutions
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 storing electricity from green energy production.
Union of forces
Kostis Stampolis, president and executive director of the Southeast European Energy Institute (IENE), said that as high gas prices are expected to remain for a long time, if Cyprus, Greece, Egypt and Israel join forces they can be The region, it said, could have a potential capacity of up to 200 billion cubic meters (dcm), while Europe consumes 440 dcm, he said.
Criticism in the EU
Konstantinos Nikolaou, vice-president of the Greek company Energean, opened fire on the EU decisions regarding the green transition. “There is a tendency to go directly to renewable energy sources, while a special tax is being levied against gas emissions,” he said, adding that these moves “led us to the energy crisis, with very high electricity prices throughout our region.”
The president of the EAC, Despina Theodosiou Panagiotou, also spoke at the energy symposium, referring to the changes that the Organization is making in order to face the new challenges.
Their views and concerns were also expressed by the links between renewable energy sources and hydrogen.
Among the speakers was the Speaker of Parliament Annita Dimitriou, who stressed the importance of undertaking cooperation initiatives and implementation of particularly important agreements with Greece, Israel and Lebanon.
Foivos Stasopoulos, senior banking director of Hellenic Bank also spoke at the conference.
On the part of the organizers, the CEO of fmw financial media, Iosif Iosif, said that the energy symposium, which is the largest gathering for the energy events in Cyprus, will soon issue the conclusions of the symposium and send them to the government for information. from the point of view of energy experts.
