ENERGY issues should be left out of disputes between political parties, Commerce and Industry Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis said yesterday, as he embarked on a dialogue with politicians on natural gas matters.“There will be frequent and continuous updating of parliamentary parties so that we can jointly formulate what is necessary and the decisions we need to take today regarding the energy sector,” Sylikiotis said after a meeting with DIKO chief Marios Garoyian.The minister highlighted the importance of energy issues and stressed that they must be left out of disputes, irrespective of political differences between parties... 1 comment

 BRINGING natural gas onshore from Block 12 for electricity production as soon as possible is the government's top priority, Commerce Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis said yesterday."Our planning centres on bringing natural gas from our own reserves," Sylikiotis told newsmen, adding that stopgap options - such as importing compressed natural gas - are "costly."Currently, Cyprus is exclusively reliant on imported heavy fuel oil for its electricity production.The minister said that on April 17 representatives of Houston-based Noble Energy - which has a concession on Block 12 in Cypriot waters - would be here to present the company's comprehensive plans for natural gas extraction from the prospect.This included the how's and the when's, he said... Read on

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