Cyprus & Egypt Discuss Natural Gas Collaborations

Lakkotrypis stated the upcoming plans after a Council of Ministers meeting, and reaffirmed that natural gas liquefaction establishments continues to be one of the nation's main goals, yet he commented that Cyprus must expand its exports.

The Cypriot Energy Minister's stance follows his recent visit to Cairo, and stated that Egypt is experiencing a serious energy dilemma.  He claimed the country is, "desperately seeking for natural gas imports", as reported by Parikiaki.

During discussions, Lakkotrypis informed his Egyptian colleagues on Cyprus' natural gas strategies and ongoing source identifications. Cyprus has located four likely natural gas outlets on the island.

The Cypriot Energy Minister added, "The first results at least from the first drilling are expected before the end of the year and we agreed that at that point we will be ready to engage in more concrete talks over the sale of natural gas at least".

When queried on the nation's larger plan concerning natural gas resources, Lakkotrypis said, "Cyprus can export to its customers in multiple ways, Surely the LNG plant is the first option but on long-term we should have a diversification of exports, provided that we have sufficient natural gas resources, which, we hope, will be proven in the next months, at least for the eastern offshore blocks where the consortium ENI-KOGS operates."

During his Cairo travels, the Cypriot Energy Minister conducted independent meetings with the Egyptian Ministers of Petroleum, Mineral Resources Sherif Ismail and Industry and Commerce Mounir Fakhri Abdel Nour, as confirmed in an official press statement.