Cyprus and Jordan announced on Tuesday the activation of technical committees to discuss the details of a possible cooperation in the gas sector.
The announcement was made at a meeting Cypriot Minister of EnergyYiorgos Lakkotrypis had with his Jordanian counterpart Ibrahim Saif, following Lakkotrypis' visit to Jordan in September 2014 and Cypriot President`s NicosAnastasiades visit to Amman in November.
After the meeting Saif said that he regards Cyprus as a strategic partner in terms of the potential cooperation in the energy sector and did not rule out the next meeting at Ministerial level to be tripartite between Jordan, Greece and Cyprus or even quadrilateral with the addition of Egypt.
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| Yiorgos Lakkotrypis and Ibrahim Saif |
Through this effort, he explained, “we want to explore the necessary infrastructure, what is there, what is needed, whether it relates to underwater pipelines or concerns liquefied natural gas, which Jordan currently imports to serve its own needs.”
He said the two countries will continue to work, in order to deepen and broaden their relations in both commercial, technical and economic level.
In his statements, Saif said that energy was one of the main sectors that the two countries could establish long-term relations.
“About 97% of the energy needs in Jordan is imported and we regard Cyprus as a strategic partner in terms of the potential cooperation between both countries”, he pointed out.
Saying that technical groups between the two countries will sit at the same table and examine "the same map," Saif referred to the developing gas network in the region and the place of his country in that network.
“Definitely we are looking at how we can utilise better the existing infrastructure and the existing routes of the potential infrastructure, so we can work together. Not only are we talking about short term cooperation, we are really here to explore long-term cooperation, we want to maximize and utilize to the maximum possible the infrastructure that exists now but also the infrastructure that could be built in the near future”, he added.
Asked whether they discussed the possibility of a bilateral or trilateral mechanism between Cyprus, Jordan and Greece or with Egypt, Saif said indeed it was at the heart of the discussions. As he said, they have discussed the possibility of a trilateral or a quadrilateral ministerial meeting where Egypt, Greece, Jordan and Cyprus could discuss potential cooperation at that level.
According to reliable sources, Jordan wants to import gas from Cyprus. The country currently covers its energy needs by buying liquefied natural gas from “Shell”, since the import of natural gas from Egypt via Sinai was interrupted by terrorist acts. A collaboration between Cyprus and Jordan may involve transfer of the Cypriot gas to Egypt and from there to Jordan. The Ministers have studied two options, either via pipeline or by the method of liquefied natural gas.
— (KYPE)
SOURCE
Same story as reported in Jordan
Energy minister, Cypriot counterpart discuss cooperation
Nicosia, Dec. 23 (Petra) -- Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ibrahim Saif, and the Cypriot Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Yiorgos Lakkotrypis, on Wednesday, discussed cooperation in the fields of natural gas and renewable energy.
During a meeting held in the Cypriot capital Nicosia, both sides reviewed the Jordanian-Cypriot cooperation to benefit from the Cypriot natural gas production.
Saif was briefed on the Cypriot plans to export natural gas discovered in the Aphrodite gas field. He also discussed with the Cypriot minister ways to establish a network for natural gas in the region.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the two countries in 2014 to exchange expertise in the field of energy, hydrocarbon exploration, infrastructure in addition to exporting Cypriot natural gas to Jordan.
//Petra//
23/12/2015 - 02:06:16 PMSOURCE
