For the contacts of its officials Republic of Cyprus with the companies operating in the Cypriot EEZ, the developments in the field of hydrocarbonsas well as issues related to Renewable Energy Sources spoke about Minister of Energy of Cyprus Giorgos Papanastasiou.

In his greeting at the Energy Committee Meeting of the Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Mr. Papanastasiou mentioned, among other things, that last Wednesday, May 31, 2023, the consortium of Chevron, Shell and NewMed Energy submitted to the Ministry of Energy the revised Development and Production Plan for the “Aphrodite” deposit. According to the consortium, the purpose of the review, which began after the acquisition of Noble Energy by Chevron, is to optimize the Development Plan, leveraging synergies with other infrastructure, which are located in Egypt.

“The Ministry of Energy will carefully study the consortium’s proposal, for comment and consultations with the aim of reaching a final and mutually acceptable text. In any case, the final approval will come from the Republic of Cyprus. In the meantime, the Consortium has started drilling the A3 appraisal well in the “Aphrodite” field, which will be completed during the summer. The drilling is expected to provide important information about the deposit that will help, among other things, in the formulation of the Development and Production Plan. Undoubtedly, the 2023 is a milestone year for the “Aphrodite” depositsince the licensee will have to make important decisions for its development, in accordance with its contractual obligations”, he noted.

As the Cypriot Minister of Energy pointed out, the conditions that have developed over the last 18 months in the oil and gas sector and which have led to the increase in energy prices to unprecedented levels, especially in Europe, constitute a favorable environment for the development of the deposits of natural gas discovered in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

“The window of opportunity that has been presented will not be open for long and, for this reason, we should, in cooperation with the companies operating within our EEZ, move quickly and decisively with the implementation of our research program and the development of existing and future gas discoveries. After about two years of stagnation in 2020 – 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2022 our research program slowly and steadily restarted, and in 2023 it is expected to be fully back to normal. Specifically, at the end of 2021, beginning of 2022, the ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy consortium drilled an appraisal well in the “Glaukos” discovery, in Block 10, in which trial production (Drill Stem Test) was also carried out. This drilling confirmed the existence of an excellent reservoir quality. The same consortium also carried out a specialized 3D seismic survey in Blocks 5 and 10, with the aim of identifying new potential targets and/or maturing existing targets. The evaluation and interpretation of this data is ongoing and we are awaiting the results both in terms of the “Glaukos” discovery and its development and for the subsequent drilling in the Blocks in question. In Block 6, the joint venture of Eni and TotalEnergies drilled, within 2022, two exploration wells, which led to the “Cronos” and “Zeus” discoveries. Combined with the “Calypso” discovery on the same Block in 2018, a cluster of discoveries has been created in the area, which is expected to help accelerate their development. At this stage, the companies are working to evaluate the three discoveries, with the aim, precisely, of developing them as soon as possible. In this context, they intend to drill an appraisal well on the “Saturn” discovery in late 2023, early 2024. In the remaining licensed Blocks, our licensees are moving forward with their exploration program, which is expected to culminate in the next 2 – 3 years with the mining of new research wells that we hope will lead to new discoveries, increasing the energy potential of our country”.

Mr. Papanastasiou also referred to the contacts of the Cypriot government with neighboring countries for the purpose of electricity generation, as well as to the alternative options for the utilization of natural gas with the involvement of Cyprus, saying that:

“Regarding the internal natural gas market, our effort is focused, in addition to the implementation as soon as possible of the liquefied gas import terminal in Vasiliko, on the import of natural gas to Cyprus for power generation purposes, through a pipeline. Natural gas will come from Eastern Mediterranean deposits – maybe from Cyprus deposits – we will secure it at the prices it is sold in our region and it will be used both for power generation and for liquefaction and export to Europe and elsewhere. The primary objective is, of course, the reduction of the cost of electricity in Cyprus and, secondly, the security of the country’s energy supply. For this purpose, we are redefining our energy strategy, offering as an alternative option, for study by interested companies, the creation of the infrastructure, namely the natural gas transmission pipeline and the modular or floating technology liquefaction terminal. We are convinced that these infrastructures will incentivize gas producers in the Eastern Mediterranean to use them to transport it to Cyprus, where it will be liquefied for export as LNG to Europe and global markets. In order to achieve the implementation of this strategy, we are in consultation with Israel for the conclusion of a relevant intergovernmental agreement, while last Monday and Tuesday, we organized a workshop in Nicosia, during which we presented to companies operating throughout the natural gas chain and electricity, the prospect of transporting natural gas from the Eastern Mediterranean to Cyprus, by pipeline. I must say that the initial reaction of the participants was positive and we expect them to come back soon with concrete thoughts and proposals, but also with an official expression of interest in participating in such a venture. In any case, it is clear that natural gas, in addition to the above-mentioned benefits of reducing the price of electricity and security of energy supply, will also play an important role in the green transition, as a bridge fuel. With the arrival of natural gas in Cyprus, it is expected that independent electricity producers will operate and competition will be created in the electricity market. In addition, generators using natural gas will be able to offer the necessary flexibility to conventional generation to cover intermittent production from Renewable Energy Sources.”

After reports on the effort and goals of Cyprus towards the green transition, Mr. Papanastasiou concluded by saying that the transition to a green economy and tackling climate change require a team effort. Each of us can contribute to this great change, from the ordinary citizen, public service, local government, businesses and academic and research institutions, by changing habits and practices, adopting energy saving measures, producing energy from renewable sources , adopting circular economy practices.