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| George Papanastasiou, Cyprus' Energy Minister |
Dr Charles Ellinas
Despite challenges, the latest plans for the development of Aphrodite are more serious and realistic
Aphrodite is back in the limelight. On May 31 NewMed submitted an updated development plan to Cyprus’ government, on behalf of the field joint venture (JV) that includes Chevron as the operator and partner Shell. This is based on transporting the gas to Shell’s West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM) existing processing and production facilities offshore Egypt, from where it will be transported to the mainland eventually for domestic consumption or for export as LNG. First gas is expected by 2028.
This goes against George Papanastasiou’s, the energy minister, wishes for the Aphrodite partners to prioritise supply of gas to the island. In April he said that he didn’t think that gas from the Aphrodite gasfield should end up in Egypt’s liquefaction terminals.
“Our approach around the use of natural gas as a transition fuel is being reviewed and we are including the natural gas found in the East Med, and more specifically Cyprus’ EEZ, in the mix for use in the domestic market,” he said.
