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

COMMERCE Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis yesterday said he had a feeling greater interest would be shown in the second offshore licensing round for hydrocarbon explorations compared to the first one.Speaking to the state broadcaster, Sylikiotis said the whole procedure was carried out with full transparency. “May 11 is the last date for the submission of the applications,” said Sylikiotis. “A lot of good work has been done over these past few months – in the preparation of documents, as well as the preparation of the presentations that took place in Huston Texas, Rome and London, but also the questions posed by companies and were answered by our website.”He said the ministry’s website responded to 115 queries... 4 comments

 Official applications for the second licensing round for offshore exploration of natural gas will be announced on May 11, according to Commerce Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis.Sylikiotis said that there were sound indications that big companies would express their interest. Many had purchased seismographic data, participated in the official presentations held in Huston, London and Rome, and have had contact with Cyprus, posing questions to the ministry, he said.Sylikiotis noted the process followed was open and transparent, adding that “meetings and contacts that we have with big companies from many regions of the globe indicate that they will express their interest in the second licensing round”.  ... Read on

TURKISH Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu and Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz yesterday attended an event in the north marking the first day of onshore exploratory drilling for oil and gas in the occupied village of Singrasi in Famagusta. “We may not extract oil or gas from this well, but drilling is part of a wider package,” said Yildiz.Yildiz said the ‘Turkyurdu-1’ well could be “a force for peace in Cyprus.” “While energy has produced wars in other parts of the world, here it will be a force for peace,” he said.Eroglu hailed the start of drilling as “a historic moment” which accords Turkish Cypriots “great strategic significance.” “We will not allow anyone to take away the rights of Turkish Cypriots in the eastern Mediterranean,” he said... 9 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

FIRE safety week kicked off yesterday with the justice ministry announcing an increased effort to instil fire safety awareness in schools.“The awareness campaign starts at primary schools, and reaches all the way to army camps spreading to hotels and industries of our island,” said Justice Minister Loucas Louca yesterday during a news conference on the matter.Louca said that they were especially putting more emphasis on preventing fires in rural areas by visiting these areas, “as the fire services are called on every year to deal with thousands of fires in rural areas”. Special emphasis will be put on informing youths too, he said... Read on

CITY of London Mayor Lord David Wooton yesterday visited the Presidential Palace, where Cyprus’ EU presidency term in July was at the centre of discussions.After his meeting with President Demetris Christofias, Wooton - who was accompanied by the president of the committee for policy and resources of the city of London, Stewart Frazer – said he was in Cyprus in view of Cyprus assuming the EU Presidency on July 1. His meeting with Christofias, he added, “was fruitful and the president set out his thoughts about the EU presidency and its importance to Cyprus”. ... Read on

ISRAELI COMPANIES are interested in investing in the construction sector in Cyprus, said Commerce Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis yesterday. Speaking on the two-day visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, Sylikiotis told state broadcaster CyBC many prospects existed to widen relations with Israel, not just in the energy sector but other areas too. He noted that the Israeli finance minister will be coming to Cyprus shortly to sign a double taxation agreement. Sylikiotis said in his meeting with Liberman on Tuesday, the two discussed plans to simplify the registration of companies in Cyprus, during which the Israeli foreign minister expressed an interest in investments in the construction sector. ... 5 comments

THE CURRENT round of talks seems to be leading nowhere; Eight years after the accession of Cyprus to the European Union, the Cyprus Presidency of the EU finds Cyprus still divided, while leaders have so far failed to utilise the discovery of natural gas in a way that will promote peace rather than war.In parallel, the financial crisis has emphasised the unhealthy economic links with the so called ’motherlands’, the lack of autonomy of the Turkish Cypriots versus, and on the other, the financial investments made by Greek Cypriots in Greece, which were excessive and risky and to the detriment of the Cypriot economy.The way ahead for the Cypriots does not lie in holding the hands of the motherlands but in holding the hands of each other. ... 2 comments