The PA workshop was an “excellent success”, says Papanastasiou
The workshop “The Cyprus Gateway: Natural Gas to Power and Liquefaction” was an “excellent success”, the Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry, Giorgos Papanastasiou, told KYPE, noting that the representatives of foreign companies commented on the high level of the presentations made by the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company (CHC) and the Ministry of Energy.
The Minister also told the KYPE that it is expected that on Wednesday, the New Med company, which is one of the partners in the “Aphrodite” plot, and is listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, will officially announce the delivery of the modified development and production plan of “Aphrodite”. The Government already has it in draft form, he said, but it seems that it will be given officially.
According to the Minister, the study of the plan has already begun for comment by the Cypriot Democracy, or simple acceptance of it.
Regarding the two-day workshop organized by the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry and EYK, Mr. Papanastasiou stated that it was an “excellent success” both in terms of content and attendance and comments from all representatives of foreign companies, who, he said, are used to high-level presentations.
“We have been told that they have never seen such presentations in terms of content from a government agency that has this much knowledge,” he said. “This shows that our knowledge, in the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company, in this case, and in the Ministry of Energy seems to be of a high level,” he added.
Immediate interest in pipeline construction between Israel-Cyprus sources report
According to information from the KYPE, there is immediate interest in the construction of a pipeline to connect Israel with Cyprus, while there is also gas to be sent to Cyprus for immediate use for the purposes of conventional electricity generation.
For this reason, it was reported to KYPE, the upcoming visit of the Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry to Israel is also considered important, following the political statement by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that he is interested in creating an alternative export via Cyprus.
The same sources stated that, based on this position, this pipeline, since it will be built, should be built in sizes that cover both cases, i.e. the electricity production of Cyprus, but also the liquefaction for export purposes . In order for this second stage, that of liquefaction, to be carried out, there must be information on what quantities Israel has in mind, which is why the visit of the Cypriot Minister to Israel, on June 14-15, is considered very important, in order to discuss this the issue to decide the size of the pipeline, was reported to the KYPE.
According to the same information, there is an expectation to give a preliminary, rough interstate agreement, first for the natural gas pipeline gas and secondly, for the electrical interconnection through a cable, between the two countries. No such agreement is expected to be signed immediately, as reported, but at least there will be a discussion to determine exactly what quantities could realistically be entered as a commitment to Israel for shipment to Cyprus.
