Noble Energy says Cypriot offshore gas field ready for business

Texas-based Noble Energy said on Tuesday that it would declare within weeks as "commercially exploitable" a natural gas field off the shores of Cyprus, opening the way for sales agreements to be finalized.

Noble Energy discovered the gas field about 85 kilometers off Cyprus's southern shores. It contains an estimated average of 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Keith Elliott, Noble Energy's senior vice president in charge of eastern Mediterranean operations, confirmed after meeting Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades that the company was entering into the stage of starting gas sales.

"It is a huge opportunity which would bring prosperity to Cyprus and to other countries in the region," Elliott said.

To that end, the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) during an economic conference at Sharm El-Sheikh on Saturday to provide Egypt with natural gas via a pipe infrastructure of Egypt's own exhausted gas fields.

Cypriot Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said the preparation of the gas field project's commercial terms was expected to be ready by the end of 2015.

"It is estimated that it will take 36 months from that point for the pumping of gas to begin," Lakkotrypis said.

He said the government's plans involve both bringing the gas to Cyprus and sales to third parties. Endit