A COMMONLY agreed bill on how natural gas is to be administered has been finalised and will be put to the vote at the plenum tomorrow.The bill, a compromise between two separate legislative proposals drafted by the DIKO and AKEL parties, spells out the respective responsibilities of the Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA) and the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA).The former would have exclusive control over importing and supplying natural gas domestically, while the energy regulator would be in charge of exports.The legislation is going to the plenum despite legal concerns: the Attorney-general’s office says that as a public company set up under private law, DEFA cannot act as a monopoly... 3 comments

THE PARTIES’ opposing views on how to regulate the natural gas market appear to have been reconciled after the House Commerce Committee yesterday came up with a commonly agreed bill which only the Legal Service had a problem with.Committee chairman Lefteris Christoforou said all parties reached agreement on the regulation of natural gas while the Legal Service raised the issue of constitutional obstacles in the proposed bill.Christoforou said committee members had a like-minded approach to the issue of regulating the competences of the Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA) and the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA). ... 2 comments

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

TURKEY will begin drilling for oil or gas off northern Cyprus towards the end of March, having carried out seismic studies, the head of state energy company TPAO said yesterday.Any gas discovery in this area could raise the stakes in the negotiations over reunification of the island, and possibly increase tensions in the eastern Mediterranean.EU-member Cyprus, started exploring for gas south of the island in September 2011, angering Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side.In reaction they signed a pact paving the way for exploration, and dispatched Turkey’s only seismic research vessel, owned by TPAO, to those waters under naval escort to search for potential reserves... 9 comments

AS EXPECTED, the President has refused to sign into law an opposition-inspired bill that bars the Commerce Minister from engaging in talks with companies bidding for offshore gas licences, and has sent the legislation back to parliament.The controversial bill, passed by the House by a majority vote a fortnight ago, empowers a committee of technocrats to assess bids for hydrocarbons licences and to negotiate with interested companies. Unlike previously, the committee’s recommendations would now be binding on the minister, who would be obliged to forward the recommendations to the Cabinet, the body that has the final say on awarding gas concessions.In short, under the legislation the Commerce Minister was given a ceremonial role on energy-related issues... 4 comments

NOBLE Energy said yesterday that an independent estimate, published earlier this week, of the natural gas resources within its Block 12 concession were consistent with its own assessments.The US company was referring to an estimate by Texas-based gas and oil consulting firm Netherland Sewell (NSAI), who gave a “best estimate of 5.1 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas” for the Block 12 prospect.In a statement, Noble said NSAI’s estimate was in fact “consistent with and confirms Noble Energy's December 28, 2011 announcement of an estimated gross resource range of 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet (tcf), with a gross mean of 7 tcf... 1 comment

THE ESTIMATED amount of natural gas reserves within the Block 12 concession, operated by Noble Energy, has been revised downwards by an independent consulting company.Netherland Sewell & Associates Ltd (NSAI), a Texas-based oil and gas consulting firm, gives a best estimate of 5.1 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas with a probability of 50 per cent, the Israeli news website Globes reported yesterday.According to the NSAI’s assessment, “Block 12’s two reservoirs have a best estimate of 1.7 tcf and 3.4 tcf of gas, respectively, of proven reserves, based on the exploratory Aphrodite A-1 well... 4 comments

Cyprus and Israel yesterday began a feasibility study for the construction of an underwater electric cable between the two countries that would ensure their energy security and offer Israel a channel to export energy to Europe.The Israel-Cyrpus leg, with an estimated cost of half a billion euros ($660 million), would eventually be part of a much longer cable continuing to Greece and from there to the pan-European electricity grid.If approved, the EuroAsia Interconnector will stretch 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) in total at a maximum depth of 2,000 meters, making it the most ambitious project ever of its kind, said Nasos Ktorides, chairman of DEH Quantum Energy... 8 comments

BY PASSING a law excluding the commerce minister from negotiating gas deals, parliament has downgraded what is a supremely political matter, the government said yesterday.Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou yesterday said he hoped the new law didn’t affect the second round of licensing for offshore explorations, which was announced earlier this month.“We hope it doesn’t; we can’t know for sure,” said Stefanou. “But one would wonder if there could be more problems, when a country or company is interested in exploring for hydrocarbons, with Turkey’s threats, stance and actions to prevent countries from showing an interest in the second round of licensing looming in the background... 7 comments

 BY A majority vote, the House passed a law last night empowering a committee of technocrats to assess bids for offshore hydrocarbons licences and to negotiate with interested companies, effectively shutting out the Commerce Minister.The bill, based on an amendment tabled by the opposition, garnered 32 votes from opposition MPs. All 16 deputies from ruling AKEL voted against.The President will likely to refuse to sign the law, in which case he will send it back to parliament, after which it could end up in the Supreme Court. Meanwhile current procedures would still apply until a court decision was reached... 9 comments