NICOSIA, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Cyprus and international energy companies led by Chevron (CVX.N) have agreed to extend talks on how to develop its Aphrodite offshore gas field amid progress in negotiations, its energy minister said on Friday.
"It is not a new negotiating round, it's an extension, because there is progress in the conversation," Energy Minister George Papanastasiou told Reuters, confirming a report in the authoritative Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) journal that talks would be extended to Nov. 5.
To avoid "working against the clock" in the negotiation, he said, "we extended it". "It was a mutual extension, the contract allowed any extra extension so this is what we did," he said.
"We believe that by Nov. 5, we will arrive to an agreement," he added.
Chevron did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nicosia disagreed with modifications proposed by Chevron and its partners earlier this year to a 2019 agreement to develop the estimated 3.5 trillion cubic foot (tcf) gas field, particularly a proposal to remove what Cyprus considers essential processing infrastructure on the sea surface.
