ENERGY: LNG terminal on Cairo agenda?
04 November, 2014
* Not enough gas in Cyprus for plant, says Noble’s Tomich *
The issue of future Cyprus natural gas exports being piped to a liquefaction plant in Egypt will probably top the agenda of the mini-summit in Cairo on Saturday, following confirmation by the leading exploration company in the area that output from offshore gasfields cannot satisfy a land-based terminal on the island.
John Tomich General Manager Cyprus of Noble Energy, operator of the Aphrodide gasfield in the Cyprus exclusive economic zone (EEZ), told the Economist Conference in Nicosia that “LNG requires a lot of gas and is very expensive, it is probably the most expensive option.”.
Right now, he said, “we don’t have enough gas in our opinion to undertake such a project so we are looking at the rest of the projects including floating LNG, CNG (compressed natural gas), and then the things that look the most compelling right now are regional pipelines”.
Although Noble has signed an MoU to explore the idea of a land-based liquefied natural gas plant, Tomich has on several occasions in the past suggested the pipeline route as a more viable prospect for Cyprus, which, in any case, cannot be produced before 2019 at the earliest or 2020.
Tomich told the Economist conference that “there is a good probability in our opinion that there will be more gas found in Cyprus both by us and by other operators”.
He remarked that if a project is executed on time and within budget “you maximise the chance of coming out with a successful project”.
Tomich also said that Noble plans additional drilling in 2015.
Italian-Korean joint venture ENI-Kogas is already drilling its first exploration well, while French Total is expected to follow in early 2015.
President Nicos Anastasiades and Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will be hosted by Abdel Fattah Al Sisi in Cairo on Saturday for the first trilateral summit after months of preparation work by their respective foreign ministers, with the aim of setting up an alliance of nations that will pursue common goals in economic and political issues, primarily stability and energy security in the eastern Mediterranean.
Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides reiterated during the meeting with his counterparts from Greece and Egypt in Nicosia last week that such a trilateral cooperation is not aimed against anyone, but would welcome the future participation of neighbouring countries.
Right now, he said, “we don’t have enough gas in our opinion to undertake such a project so we are looking at the rest of the projects including floating LNG, CNG (compressed natural gas), and then the things that look the most compelling right now are regional pipelines”.
Although Noble has signed an MoU to explore the idea of a land-based liquefied natural gas plant, Tomich has on several occasions in the past suggested the pipeline route as a more viable prospect for Cyprus, which, in any case, cannot be produced before 2019 at the earliest or 2020.
Tomich told the Economist conference that “there is a good probability in our opinion that there will be more gas found in Cyprus both by us and by other operators”.
He remarked that if a project is executed on time and within budget “you maximise the chance of coming out with a successful project”.
Tomich also said that Noble plans additional drilling in 2015.
Italian-Korean joint venture ENI-Kogas is already drilling its first exploration well, while French Total is expected to follow in early 2015.
President Nicos Anastasiades and Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will be hosted by Abdel Fattah Al Sisi in Cairo on Saturday for the first trilateral summit after months of preparation work by their respective foreign ministers, with the aim of setting up an alliance of nations that will pursue common goals in economic and political issues, primarily stability and energy security in the eastern Mediterranean.
Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides reiterated during the meeting with his counterparts from Greece and Egypt in Nicosia last week that such a trilateral cooperation is not aimed against anyone, but would welcome the future participation of neighbouring countries.
Link to source: http://www.financialmirror.com/news-details.php?nid=33453
