Cyprus and Chevron reach a deal to develop an offshore natural gas field, ending years of delays - ABC NEWS / ASSOCIATED PRESS

December 1, 2023, 2:09 PM
Menelaos Hadjicostis

NICOSIA, Cyprus -- The Cyprus government and U.S. energy company Chevron have reached a deal on how to develop the Aphrodite gas field, the first to be discovered under the seafloor off Cyprus, an official Friday. The field is estimated to hold 4.2 trillion cubic feet of gas.

The agreement is “mutually beneficial" for both Cyprus and the company, the Cypriot official told The Associated Press but did not disclose further details.

It was not immediately clear when the deal was reached. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the agreement publicly.

Turkey begins oil and gas search that could stoke tensions - ABC NEWS /ASSOCIATED PRESS

ANTALYA, Turkey — Oct 31, 2018, 11:16 AM ET
LEFTERIS PITARAKIS AND MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS

Turkey embarked on a search for oil and gas in the east Mediterranean on Wednesday in a move that could stoke regional tensions, with the country warning it would thwart "unilateral, illegitimate and unfair" actions against its interests.

The drillship 'Conquerer' — named after Ottoman Sultan Mehmet, who conquered Constantinople — began exploratory drilling off Antalya, on Turkey's southern coast.

The country is asserting itself in the east Mediterranean to signal that it won't be left out of a potential offshore gas bonanza as neighboring Cyprus is poised to renew exploratory drilling off its southern shores. ExxonMobil is scheduled to start drilling in one of 13 blocks inside Cyprus' [declared] exclusive economic zone by year's end.

Turkey doesn't recognize Cyprus as a state and opposes its gas search, which it says infringes on its rights to oil and gas reserves and ignores the rights of breakaway Turkish Cypriots to the ethnically split island's natural resources. Turkey also says that its continental shelf overlaps part of Cyprus' exclusive economic zone.

Cyprus, Israel, Greece pledge deeper military ties - ABC NEWS / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Lieberman (L), Angelides (C), Kammenos (R)

Larnaca, Cyprus — Jun 22, 2018, 11:28 AM ET

Menelaos Hadjicostis

Cyprus, Israel and Greece must forge deeper military ties to improve security and more effectively counter common threats in a turbulent region, the countries' defense ministers said Friday.

Cypriot Minister Savvas Angelides and his Israeli and Greek counterparts Avigdor Lieberman and Panos Kammenos said they also seek to expand cooperation on cybersecurity, joint military drills and search and rescue operations in the eastern Mediterranean.

The Israeli defense minister said the threat of terror attacks and the challenges posed by illegal migration in a region he called "an ocean of violence" where "rogue states" operate must be met collectively.

"It's much better to counter regional threats together," Lieberman told a news conference. He also said Israel will host the ministers' next trilateral meeting.

The ministers also hailed the first conference bringing together Cypriot, Greek and Israeli companies active in the military industry.

Cyprus, Egypt, Greece agree to bolster maritime security - ABC NEWS

Cyprus' Defense Minister Christoforos Fokaides (center), Greek counterpart Panos Kammenos (right), and Egyptian Defense Minister Sedki Sobhi (left) in Cyprus on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. 

Dec 14, 2017, 9:54 AM ET

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS, ASSOCIATED PRESS LARNACA, Cyprus

The defense ministers of Cyprus, Egypt and Greece agreed Thursday to step up cooperation in combating drug, weapons and people trafficking in the east Mediterranean and to share information on countering the threat of terrorism.

Cypriot Defense Minister Christoforos Fokaides and his Egyptian and Greek counterparts Sedki Sobhi and Panos Kammenos said that they're also setting up a coordinating body to oversee joint special forces drills geared toward protecting vital sea lanes in the eastern Mediterranean.

Cyprus' Top Diplomat: Gas Finds Could Partly Fund Peace Deal - ABC NEWS / AP

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Jun 15, 2016, 6:26 AM ET

Cyprus' foreign minister says potential offshore gas discoveries could partly fund the cost of reunifying the ethnically divided island as a federation.

Ioannis Kasoulides said Wednesday future gas finds could possibly underwrite funding that would be needed to compensate individuals who — under specific criteria — wouldn't get back properties lost during the 1974 conflict that cleaved the island.

Breakaway Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci made a similar remark in an interview with the AP in April.

Oil Minister Says Egypt 'Suffering' From Fuel Subsidies | ABC News

By MARAM MAZEN, ASSOCIATED PRESS CAIRO — Jan 11, 2016, 12:26 PM ET

Egypt's petroleum minister said Monday the country is "suffering" due to fuel subsidies, saying these funds are better diverted to other areas such as health care and education.

Tarek el-Molla, speaking at a conference in Cairo, showed in a presentation that between July and September 2015, the government paid 42 percent of the cost of 92-octane gasoline, which is used to fuel private vehicles owned by more affluent Egyptians.

While a liter of 92-octane gasoline cost 4.5 Egyptian pounds (57 cents), it sold at 2.6 pounds (33 cents) at the pump, a graph in his presentation showed. El-Molla also highlighted similar disparities in the true cost and selling price of other fuel products.

"I meant to show you this graph to let you feel the challenge and how Egypt is suffering from the subsidy," el-Molla told the conference. "Can you believe that all of us coming today at this event in our vehicles and our cars, the government is subsidizing us?"

He said this was the first time he had spoken about the topic this openly.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi had cut fuel subsidies in 2014 by more than 70 percent, in a move that caused a public outcry but was welcomed by economists as a necessary step to save public funds for much-needed development projects.

El-Molla declined to share a timeline or the government's plans for future fuel subsidy cuts, saying announcing these plans ahead of time could prompt people to hoard gasoline to sell at a higher price later.

He said money spent on fuel subsidies should "at least get reduced to a reasonable number by which this money can be directed to health care, education, that would help the development of the country."

SOURCE

France's Total Renews Cyprus Offshore Gas Search Deal | ABC News

France's Total Renews Cyprus Offshore Gas Search Deal

• By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
 

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Dec 3, 2015, 9:44 AM ET

Cyprus says French energy company Total has renewed its license to search for oil and gas in waters off the eastern Mediterranean island nation's southern coast for another two years.

Deputy government spokesman Victoras Papadopoulos says the government approved the renewal agreement on Thursday.

Papadopoulos said under the terms of the deal, Total's search area — or block — will be smaller. He didn't specify how much area Total cedes back to the government.

Total went ahead with the deal despite disappointing results from an initial round of exploratory drilling.

The area where Total is licensed to search is situated north of Egyptian waters where Italian energy company Eni announced in August that it had discovered what it called the "largest-ever" gas deposit ever found in the Mediterranean Sea

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Dec 3, 2015, 9:44 AM ET

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/frances-total-renews-cyprus-offshore-gas-search-deal-35553608