- ayios dhometios : Priests shut down crossing point
- cost : Our View: Study on the cost of running CyBC was a real eyeopener...
- bill : ‘Follow halloumi standard or be fined’
- areas : Teachers call for designated smoking areas
- Cyprus : Police ‘Occupy’ raid denounced
- Barrie Pegg : ‘Why I jumped from the second floor window’
- Charities : Charities busy helping Easter poor
- Christina Yiannaki : Private dentists feeling recession bite
- AG : AG says drivers were pardoned due to initial mistake by police...
- Cyprus : Woman from Cyprus with rare ectopic pregnancy saved at Hadassah
Tagsgas
Second round of gas licensing opens
Cyprus has today opened up the second round of licensing for gas exploration in the 12 remaining offshore blocks of its Exclusive Economic zone.The licensing round follows the first natural gas discovery in December, when U.S. based Noble Energy discovered from five to eight trillion cubic feet in a block south of the island. The block lies close to where neighbouring Israel has reported significant discoveries.According to a government announcement on Saturday, applications could be submitted within 90 days of the date of the notice.A decision on the applications was expected to be made by the cabinet within six months from the date of their submission, the notice said... 2 comments
Our View: Weak government policy leads to fight for who controls natural gas
THE POLITICAL squabbling over who would be in control of natural gas has been gathering momentum. Opposition parties want to restrict the government’s authority by handing over decision making to technocrats and at the same time are fighting among themselves for control of the decision making. Meanwhile the government has set up committees of experts, who would supposedly advise it on energy policy, in order to dispel rumours that it would take decisions arbitrarily... 4 comments
Second licensing round by February 13
CYPRUS will announce a second hydrocarbons licensing round for oil and gas offshore in mid-February, Trade and Industry Minister Praxoulla Antoniadou said yesterday."We are maybe only eight days away from the official announcement of the second round of licensing," the minister told lawmakersThe official announcement will be published in the European Union journal on February 13. Up to twelve blocks in the eastern Mediterranean off southern Cyprus will be included in the round, officials have previously said... 1 comment
Second round of licensing to be announced next week
The second round of licensing for hydrocarbon research within Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) will be announced in eight days, commerce minister Praxoula Antoniadou said today.“We are only eight days away from the official announcement for the second round of licensing”, Antoniadou told the House Commerce Committee.Commerce Ministry permanent secretary Zeta Emileanidou said that the Ministry was informed by the Cypriot Permanent Representation to the EU that the official announcement for the licensing will be published in the EU gazette on February 13.Up to twelve blocks in the eastern Mediterranean off southern Cyprus will be included in the round, officials have previously said... 3 comments
A game of high stakes: jockeying for positions in gas bonanza
A RAFT of legislative proposals relating to hydrocarbons has sprung up in the wake of Noble’s announcement of a gas bonanza off the island’s southern shores.Pending before the House Commerce Committee, there are currently not one, not two, but three items of legislation.What the bills do have in common is that they are vying to become part of the legal framework governing natural gas, significantly, before the government issues a call for interest for the second offshore licensing round. The race is on, as the call for interest is a matter of weeks, if comments by officials are to be believed... 3 comments
Turkish drilling being monitored
THE GOVERNMENT is monitoring Turkish plans for onshore oil drilling in the occupied north and aims to report such actions to the United Nations, Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis has said.She said authorities have information that the drilling will take place either in the occupied village of Singrasi or near the archaeological site of Engomi.Whichever the case may be, Marcoullis said, in the event these reports are confirmed the Republic would be reporting these “illegal acts” to the European Union and other international organizations.Earlier this month Turkish Cypriot daily Haberdar published what it claimed was the exact location of planned land-based drilling for oil and gas in the north... 11 comments
Noble mulls Cyprus gas terminal
NOBLE Energy is considering building a natural gas terminal for the domestic market and for exports from Cyprus, Noble’s vice president Terry Gerhart said yesterday after meeting President Demetris Christofias. Gerhart said he had a “very good meeting” with the president during which Noble officials updated him on progress with the well in Block 12, south of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone. “As everyone is aware we drilled a successful well and made an announcement at the end of the year, said Gerhart, adding, “Somewhere between 5 and 8 trillion cubic feet of gas were found and we look forward to progressing it and bringing it to reality for the Cypriot market... 1 comment
Noble may build natural gas terminal in Cyprus
NOBLE Energy is considering building a natural gas terminal for the domestic market and for exports from Cyprus, Noble's vice president Terry Gerhart said today.After this morning's meeting with the President Demetris Christofias, Gerhart said: “We updated him on our progress with the well... As everyone is aware we drilled a successful well and made an announcement at the end of the year."He added: "Somewhere between 5 and 8 trillion cubic feet of gas were found and we look forward to progressing it and bringing it to reality for the Cypriot market. it is going to take quite a bit of time to analyze all of the data that we have. We are in the process of doing that now... 2 comments
Drilling for oil to begin in the north at the end of the month
INFRASTRUCTURAL work has begun at a site near Famagusta in preparation for Turkey’s state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) to begin exploratory drilling for oil and natural gas on February 28, a Turkish Cypriot official confirmed yesterday.Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, the official said the work was the first step towards the digging of four 3,000-metre wells under the Cypriot countryside near the village of Lapathos, in Famagusta district.While insisting the start of drilling came as a result of “expert information” on the possible presence of hydrocarbons in the area, the official said it also resulted from a Greek Cypriot refusal to put its hydrocarbon exploration projects on hold pending reunification of the island... 16 comments
Ministerial committee briefed on Noble drilling
THE ministerial committee responsible for hydrocarbons was yesterday briefed on the results of Noble Energy’s exploratory drilling in the Block 12 offshore gas project by the company’s experts and technocrats.Officials were also informed on the geophysical qualities of Block 12.The committee – comprising of the Commerce, Finance, Agriculture and Interior ministers, as well as the Undersecretary to the President – will eventually advise the president and government on the long-term strategy needed in regards to hydrocarbons... Read on
