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Cyprus approves BG stake in offshore natural gas well

Xinhua, January 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

Cyprus has approved the partner status of British Gas Group in an offshore natural gas deposit, Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said after a regular meeting of the Council of Ministers on Monday.

"This is a very important development because it strengthens the joint venture of block 12 in view of the commercial exploitation of the Aphrodite reserves," said Lakkotrypis.

BG had made a proposal to acquire a 35-percent share in the gas deposit at a reported price of 165 million euros (180 million U.S. dollars).

The deposit was discovered by Texas-based concession holder Noble Energy and is reported to contain at least 4.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Lakkotrypis said Noble Energy would retain 35 percent of equity and would remain the operator, with Israel's Delek Drilling Limited Partnership and Avner Oil Exploration Limited Partnership, each having a 15 percent working interest in the project.

Noble Energy is currently working on a development plan, but Lakkotrypis said that once the deal was sealed, British Gas would be expected to offer its own comments on how to speed up planning and even on how to save resources.

Plans are believed to involve piping gas to the south Cyprus shores for the island's energy production needs, sending gas to BG's liquefaction line at Idku in Egypt and, on a wider scale, supplying gas to Europe.

"Since BG is also a possible buyer of natural gas, it will be able to speed up processes since it will be able to use the liquefaction terminal in Egypt which it manages and co-owns, said Lakkotrypis.

Supply of gas from the Aphrodite field under current planning is expected to start in 2020, Lakkotrypis said.

Italian ENI, in association with South Korea's KOGAS and France's Total are planning further drilling in two separate blocks of the Cypriot continental shelf in the next two years. Endit