Last Tuesday, the 21st of April Cypriot Energy Minister Giorgus Lakkotrypis denied the alleged reports published by Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) stating that oil gas companies are on their way out of Cyprus after experiencing unsuccessful results of their activity in the region.  

The Minister confirmed that the changes are coming and we can observe constant progress in the field; "as far as exploiting the Aphrodite reservoir, we have repeatedly stated that a huge effort is underway. You can see the developments, they are methodical and gradual".

As per the investment growth in the region, "there is intense regional interest for the purchase of natural gas, and naturally I do not share the views expressed in the MEES report," Lakkotrypis added.

In fact, since Noble Energy's discovery of Aphrodite in 2011, a field estimated at 4.54 Tcf, the island has not encountered any additional amount of the hydrocarbon in its waters. The field has not been exploited to date. The project for an onshore LNG terminal on the Vassilikos coast has been replaced by a regional pipeline strategy given the modest quantities of natural gas. Now Cyprus is considering the sale of gas from the Aphrodite field to Egypt and potentially using Egypt's unused export terminals to reach export markets.