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11 Μαΐου 2014
Δημοσίευση12:20

Cyprus looks to move fast with gas search

A land-based facility to process Cyprus’s new offshore gas remains a top priority, but the search for additional sources of the fuel must move quickly to keep up with a rapidly shifting market, the country’s energy minister said late on Thursday.

Δημοσίευση 12:20’
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A land-based facility to process Cyprus’s new offshore gas remains a top priority, but the search for additional sources of the fuel must move quickly to keep up with a rapidly shifting market, the country’s energy minister said late on Thursday.

A land-based facility to process Cyprus’s new offshore gas remains a top priority, but the search for additional sources of the fuel must move quickly to keep up with a rapidly shifting market, the country’s energy minister said late on Thursday.

The amount of gas inside Cyprus’s single proven field off its south coast isn’t enough to secure the billions of euros needed from investors to finance construction of the facility that authorities hope will turn the country into an alternative supplier of energy to Europe and beyond.

Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis told The Associated Press that signs of additional gas discoveries in Cypriot waters are “very promising.”

But he said it’s essential to expedite exploration so Cyprus can keep up with other potential exporters.

New sources of fuel – such as shale gas from the US – could soon reach the market, lowering prices and complicating Cyprus’s efforts to woo investors willing to back construction of the expensive facility that would liquefy the gas for easier export.

“We need to have these conditions met, which is basically to have enough gas to proceed [with an onshore facility] because we feel that’s the best strategy for Cyprus in the longer term,” Lakkotrypis said.

“But at the same time we’re keeping an eye on what’s going on in the international markets.”

Lakkotrypis said the key advantage to a liquefied natural gas plant over a fixed pipeline is that it would give Cyprus the flexibility to meet demand for the fuel anywhere in the world.

The benefits for Cyprus, which international lenders saved from bankruptcy with a painful, multi-billion-euro rescue last year, could be huge.