Transport ministry hits back in Limassol port dispute - CYPRUS MAIL

A EDT barge at Limassol port

JAN 22, 2018

Claims by the oil and gas services company EDT operating out of Limassol port that they have incurred damages because of omissions by the transport ministry are completely out of touch with reality, the ministry said on Monday.

In a brief statement following press reports that EDT was suing the government for €150m, the transport ministry said the claims had no legal basis, according to advice from their legal advisors.

On Sunday, left-wing Haravghi newspaper ran an article saying that according to the lawsuit, EDT claimed that since October 2016, the transport ministry and the minister, Marios Demetriades, kept giving assurances that developments regarding the privatisation of the port would “not cause any disturbance to the functioning of the work of our company “.

Operations at Limassol port were privatised at the beginning of last year.

The report also claimed that the ministry, through the Cyprus Ports Authority, handed down ultimatums to the company which effectively ended discussions that could have resolve outstanding issues although it did not specify what they were.

Cabinet approves purchase of land from UK for new port - CYPRUS MAIL

The power plant in the Vasilikos area

NOVEMBER 22, 2017

Evie Andreou

Cabinet approved on Wednesday a proposal by Transport Minister Marios Demetriades to sign an agreement with the United Kingdom to acquire a piece of land near Vassilikos, in Limassol to construct an industrial and energy port that could be used by the hydrocarbon industry.

Following the cabinet meeting, Demetriades said that the approval of his proposal was “of great importance” for the country, and opened great prospects for development. He said the decision is part of the government-integrated plan for port infrastructure and the wider policy of making Cyprus a regional infrastructure management centre.

Energy ministry aims for LNG by 2020 - CYPRUS MAIL

September 29, 2017

Evie Andreou

The government aims to bring liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Cyprus by 2020 for cheaper and cleaner energy, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy Stelios Himonas said on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference in Limassol, on LNG, Himonas said that studies carried out under two programmes will contribute to the realization of the country’s energy goals and the arrival of natural gas in Cyprus.

Cyprus and Egypt sign series of bilateral deals - CYPRUS MAIL

Cyprus Finance Minister Harris Georghiades and Egypt's Minister
for Investment and International Cooperation Dr Sahar Nasr

MARCH 3RD, 2017

CYPRUS and Egypt on Friday signed a series of agreements and MoUs to enhance bilateral ties and further their strategic partnership.

During a ceremony in Nicosia, Finance minister Harris Georgiades, and his Egyptian counterpart Sahar Nasr, signed an agreement in the field of labour.

The Egyptian minister also signed an agreement with Transport minister Marios Demetriades on the protection and return of stolen or illicitly imported, exported or transferred cultural property.

MoUs were also signed with the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency and the
Chamber of Commerce and Industry with the Egyptian businessmen’s association.

Georgiades spoke of “another important step in enhancing the political and economic ties” between the two countries.

“We consider our relationship with Egypt as one of strategic importance. We consider Egypt a valued partner and we remain committed to further expanding and enhancing our already excellent and closed ties and today we have made an important step in this direction,” he said.

LNG demand in southeast Europe – a tale of three countries - LNG WORLD SHIPPING

Marios Demetriades: considering Cyprus' LNG options

Thu 12 Jan 2017
Karen Thomas

Greece, Italy and Cyprus have individual and collective plans for LNG-import and small-scale distribution infrastructure

Although it is a relatively mature LNG-import market, Europe is developing significant new import and small-scale capacity and new capacity is concentrated in the south and east of the continent.

Several factors are driving this shift. Falling prices and slowing demand from Asia’s mature importers have made LNG more competitively priced, compared with piped gas, for buyers in Europe.

Preparing to drill - IN CYPRUS / CYPRUS WEEKLY

SAIPEM's Castoro Sei, at Limassol port, off to Zohr Field at EOY

October 30, 2016
By Charles Ellinas

Total and EDT signed a contract on October 6, in the presence of Transport Minister Marios Demetriades and Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis, signifying the restart of drilling in Block 11 by April 2017.

It was a happy occasion, with Demetriades confirming to the two companies that the government will do its utmost to support their work “because we believe that the hydrocarbons industry has a future in Cyprus”.

The day after signature of the contract, the whole process started unravelling. It was revealed that the recently-awarded contract to DP World and GAP Vassilopoulos (Consortium) for marine and port services at Limassol port, as part of the privatisation process, was posing problems.

Total’s plans in limbo after logistics contract blunder, ENI, Noble hint at logistics move abroad - CYPRUS MAIL

October 24th, 2016

ENERGY giant Total’s plans to explore for hydrocarbons offshore Cyprus are stuck in limbo, while ENI and Noble Energy are intimating they are considering moving their onshore logistics base to Egypt and Israel, respectively, unless they are able to continue operating out of the port of Larnaca.

In early October, Total and EDT offshore, an oil and gas services company, signed a contract where the latter would provide the former onshore logistics services out of the port of Limassol supporting Total’s drilling programme.

Amid much fanfare at the signing ceremony – attended by energy minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis and transport minister Marios Demetriades – Total announced they were poised to drill their first exploratory well in Block 11 of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone, in April 2017.

TOTAL gears up for first exploratory drilling in block 11 - SIGMA LIVE / CNA

07.10.2016 07:42

French energy heavyweight TOTAL said on Thursday that block 11 in the Cypriot EEZ, which is adjacent to the Egyptian giant gas field Zhor, contains geologic structures which could carry natural gas.

Total signed today a contract with EDT Agency Services Ltd, a subsidiary of the EDT Offshore Group, a contract for Onshore Logistics Base Services in the Limassol port, paving the way for the commencement of exploratory drilling in block 11 in 2017. The ceremony took place in the presence of Ministers of Energy and Transport Yiorgos Lakkotrypis and Marios Demetriades respectively.

French gas giant Totally ready for 2017 - IN BUSINESS / CYPRUS WEEKLY

September 30, 2016

French gas giant Total has plans ready for exploration in the Exclusive Economic Zone in Cyprus for the period 2017-2018, which coincides with a push to reunite the island and maximise benefits from natural resources.

Total has drafted a detailed programme on four drills inside Block 11 of the Cyprus EEZ for the period 2017-2018, according to daily Phileleftheros.

The French company is “moving ahead with preparations for the initial drill which will require a drilling rig of the latest technology capable of reaching deep underwater.”

Phileleftheros added that drilling decisions were made a week ago and Total has opened bids already for subcontractors as well as infrastructure support at Limassol port.

LNG, fuel of the future for ships, transport minister says - CYPRUS MAIL / CNA

SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2016  
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is the fuel of the future for ships, Transport Minister Marios Demetriades said on Friday.

In his address at the conference LNG Fuelling the Future of the Eastern Mediterranean, that took place in the coastal town of Limassol, Demetriades said that until recently, reference to LNG for shipping was only viewed as cargo on ships intended for use on land.

“Now we can confidently speak about LNG as the fuel of the future for ships as well”.

Contracts for Limassol port oil services to be signed in July - CYPRUS MAIL

APRIL 9TH, 2016 EVIE ANDREOU

The contracts with the company providing services to French energy giant Total, scheduled to drill for gas later this year, will be signed in July, Transport Minister Marios Demetriades said on Saturday.

According to Demetriades, at the moment there is a tender competition for companies to provide services to Total, which has agreed to relocate from Larnaca to Limassol port.

The government has been trying to convince the hydrocarbon companies, interested in drilling for natural gas off Cyprus, ENI, Noble and Total, to relocate to Limassol, after the Larnaca municipal council decided in February not to extend the stay of MedServ, the company providing support services to ENI and Total.

Cyprus Can Boost Shipping's Role in Economy, Wilbur Ross Says | Bloomberg

Wilbur Ross - Photographer: Daniel Acker, Bloomberg

by  Paul Tugwell & Georgios Georgiou, December 24, 2015 

Cyprus’s target to increase the contribution that shipping makes to its economy by around two percentage points over the next three years is achievable, U.S. billionaire investor Wilbur Ross said.

The country needs to increase the share of the global fleet managed by companies on the island to 4.8 percent from 4 percent in order to push shipping’s contribution to gross domestic product to around 9 percent from 7 percent, “not such a heavy lift,” said Ross, who owns shipping interests and serves as vice chairman of lender Bank of Cyprus. Cyprus has structural and geographical advantages, “they just need to do more promotion,” he said by e-mail.

Revenue from ship management services alone rose to 464 million euros ($506 million), equivalent to 5.4 percent of GDP, in the first half of 2015 from 421 million euros in the second half of 2014, according to the central bank. Ship management companies based on the island include Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement Cyprus Ltd, Columbia Shipmanagement Ltd and Interorient Navigation Co Ltd.

“Cyprus has a strong registry like Malta, but it also has a strong resident industry,” Transport Minister Marios Demetriades said in an interview in Nicosia. The government plans to be more aggressive in attracting new business by strengthening regional offices in shipping centers like New York, Rotterdam and Piraeus, he said.

Cyprus is already the world’s second-largest ship management center, with island-based companies controlling a merchant fleet of 2,200 vessels with gross tonnage of 50 million, according to the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency. Cyprus also has the third-largest merchant fleet in the European Union, after Greece and Malta.

Right Conditions

Cyprus has the right conditions to attract more shipping companies and quality ships to its registry, according to Thomas Kazakos, director general of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber. The requirements include a competitive EU-approved tax system coupled with a business-friendly maritime administration ready to work with the private sector, and “we have this in Cyprus," he said in an interview.

Cyprus also has the potential to become an eastern Mediterranean base for shipping companies offering services to the oil and gas industry following recent discoveries in countries including Egypt and Israel, Ross said. As a stable country in an unstable part of the world, Cyprus is “perfectly positioned” to be the entry point to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, he said.

Reunification of the island, which would see Turkey lifting its embargo on Cyprus-flagged ships, would further boost demand for Cypriot shipping services given its proximity to Turkey and could promote development of ports to service the Turkish market, Demetriades said.

SOURCE