The development of the 'Aphrodite' gas field is a strategic priority for the Republic of Cyprus and significant progress has been achieved, President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides said during a meeting in New York, with Chevron’s President of Base Assets and Emerging Countries, Javier La Rosa.
During the meeting, held late on Tuesday, 22 September, the President stressed that the time has now come to move decisively from planning to implementation, maintaining momentum and accelerating the next steps, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said.
In a written statement, Letymbiotis said that “during the meeting, the shared commitment to advancing the development of the field on the basis of the approved Development and Production Plan was reaffirmed, while the progress of the technical and commercial work and the next steps toward reaching a Final Investment Decision (FID) were also discussed.”
He added that “the President of the Republic underlined the importance of maintaining momentum and accelerating the timetable, with the aim of reaching the Final Investment Decision as soon as possible and commencing natural gas production.”
Particular reference was also made, he said, to the strategic importance of energy cooperation between Cyprus and Egypt and to the progress achieved toward utilizing natural gas from “Aphrodite” through Egypt’s existing infrastructure.
“This development creates substantial prospects for the commercial exploitation of the fields in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone and strengthens regional energy planning and interconnectivity in the Eastern Mediterranean,” the Spokesperson stressed.
Letymbiotis also said that the President of the Republic “reiterated the Republic of Cyprus’ readiness to continue working closely with Chevron and all partners involved, in order to facilitate the next steps and maintain the momentum in implementing the project.”
“The successful development of ‘Aphrodite’ will constitute an important milestone for Cyprus, while at the same time strengthening the role of the Eastern Mediterranean in European energy planning and energy security,” Letymbiotis concluded.
In a press release, the Presidency said earlier that during the meeting, which was attended, among others, by Minister of Foreign Affairs Constantinos Kombos and Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis, the participants discussed, among other issues, developments over the past year in the Eastern Mediterranean and the broader Middle East, as well as the significant importance of the region.
The President of the Republic, underlining the importance of the region in political and energy developments, stressed the need to accelerate the process concerning cooperation between the Republic of Cyprus and Chevron, it concluded.
(Source: CNA)
