THE GOVERNMENT has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to carry out a study on setting up a hydrocarbons fund to manage the country’s gas wealth for future generations, Commerce Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis revealed yesterday. Speaking from Paphos, Sylikiotis said the government was working methodically to create the necessary infrastructure to handle the hydrocarbon reserves in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Cabinet already decided on the creation of a national hydrocarbons company, while the legal service has been asked to prepare its charter, he said.  ... 4 comments

 COMMERCE MINISTER Neoclis Sylikiotis yesterday hailed the 15 bids submitted by 29 companies from around the world in Cyprus’ second licencing round for offshore hydrocarbon reserves, saying the result “surpassed our expectation”.  Flanked by the ministers of finance and agriculture, former commerce minister Antonis Paschalides, top advisers and senior officials, Sylikiotis announced the results of the licensing round for the remaining 12 offshore blocks in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), half an hour after it closed.  ... 18 comments

 PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias has slammed Ankara for stoking tensions in the Mediterranean after Turkey made official its plans for offshore hydrocarbon exploration in areas overlapping Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).On Saturday, maps published in Turkey's government gazette showed that oil drilling permits included areas near Rhodes and southwest of Cyprus.The licences were issued to the Turkey’s national oil and gas company TPAO and cover areas offshore from Adana, Antalya, Antioch and Mougla, all outside Turkey's territorial waters.The maps show that the permits stretch as far as the Greek island of Rhodes as well as plots 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7 as delineated by the Republic of Cyprus, south and south-west of the island... 11 comments

ALTHOUGH hydrocarbon findings off the coast of Cyprus could in theory act as a catalyst for reconciliation, in practice the political-economic dynamics point to escalating tensions and confrontation with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean.That was the verdict of Hubert Faustman, Associate Professor for History and Political Science with the University of Nicosia, one of the speakers at a conference yesterday organised by the university in cooperation with the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Cyprus.Titled “New Threats and Challenges for Regional Security in the Eastern Mediterranean,” the conference offered an overview of regional developments and attempted an analysis of their effects on Cyprus’ natural gas ventures... 7 comments

LEBANON HAS no quarrel with Cyprus over its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), its gripe is with neighbour Israel, said Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour yesterday. Speaking after a meeting with his Cypriot counterpart Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis in Lebanon, Mansour said: “The disagreement is not with Cyprus, but rather with Israel.” He accused Israel of drawing up its EEZ in a way which exceeded a part of its economic region. “We hope this issue will be resolved in the future,” said Mansour. Marcoullis, on a two-day official visit to Lebanon, said: “Cyprus will do everything possible to facilitate a solution to this problem between Lebanon and Israel and we will continue our efforts so that a solution will be found.” ... 1 comment

FOREIGN Minister Erato Kozakou Marcoullis was in Lebanon yesterday for talks on bilateral issues including a dispute over hydrocarbons with Israel.Cyprus has signed agreements with Egypt, Israel, and Lebanon, delineating respective economic zones but the Lebanese parliament has yet to ratify the pact because of a dispute with the Jewish state.Lebanon claims Israel’s Leviathan gas field, discovered in June 2010, spills over into Lebanese territory, and says that Israel ignores this fact. The two countries dispute an area of around 850 square kilometres. Yesterday, Marcoullis pledged Cyprus’ help in resolving the matter... 1 comment

A NEW Israeli company is setting up shop in Cyprus to bid in the second round of licensing for the remaining 12 blocks in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). According to Israeli business website Globes, controlling partners from the limited partnership company Israel Opportunity Energy Resources have announced plans to expand their activity beyond oil and gas exploration in and around Israel, setting up a subsidiary company in Cyprus. The local subsidiary called Cyprus Opportunity will be fully responsible for acquiring deepwater offshore licences in Cyprus’ second round of licensing.  ... 3 comments

THE LEBANESE Parliament is ready to ratify an agreement on the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) between Cyprus and Lebanon within a fortnight from the moment the EEZ dispute between Lebanon and Israel is settled, said Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri yesterday. Berri was on an official visit to Cyprus yesterday, where he met with President Demetris Christofias, House Speaker Yiannakis Omirou, Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis and Commerce Minister Praxoulla Antoniadou. ... Read on

 THE PRESENCE of hydrocarbon reserves in Cypriot and Greek waters could and should lead to the forging of a common economic strategy between the two countries, the head of Greece's New Democracy party Antonis Samaras said in Nicosia yesterday.Samaras, on a three-day visit to the island, was speaking to reporters after being received by President Demetris Christofias.The two had an "extensive" discussion on issues relating to the exclusive economic zones (EEZ), Samaras said.The New Democracy leader stressed that Greece should take steps to delimit its EEZ just as Cyprus had done under former President Tassos Papadopoulos... 2 comments

The Cyprus problem remains a top priority for the Greek government – despite its financial woes - Greek New Democracy party leader Antonis Samaras said today.Speaking after a meeting with President Demetris Christofias, Samaras said: “Cyprus and Greece are two independent states, however the two countries belong to the same nation.”He underlined the need for a solution to the Cyprus problem that will be viable and just and will end the island’s Turkish occupation.Samaras also said that during the meeting with President Christofias, they discussed the latest developments regarding hydrocarbon exploration in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and that the natural wealth in both Cyprus and Greece can lead to a joint strategy in economic matters... 8 comments