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.

ENI also likely to operate out of Limassol - CYPRUS MAIL

March 30, 2017

Elias Hazou

AFTER energy giants Total, it looks like ENI will likewise operate – albeit grudgingly – out of the port of Limassol for their scheduled drilling operations, slated to get underway later this year.

“Larnaca port is definitely out,” Alecos Michaelides, permanent secretary of the transport ministry and former president of the Cyprus Ports Authority (CPA) board, told the Cyprus Mail.

Michaelides confirmed news reports that DP World, the concession holders operating the multi-purpose terminal of Limassol port for the next 25 years, plan to have an onshore logistics base supporting hydrocarbons activities up and running by this summer.

ENI are contractually bound to start drilling two more wells before February 2018, when their offshore exploration licence expires.

Port deal will allow Total to drill on schedule - CYPRUS MAIL

December 23, 2016

Elias Hazou
A DEAL has been struck between the consortium holding the marine services concession at the port of Limassol and EDT Offshore, allowing French oil major Total to drill its first exploratory well on schedule.

The development means that EDT, can via their port facilities, provide onshore logistical support to Total who plan to drill around April next year.

The breakthrough, which sources said came after ‘marathon negotiations’ between EDT and P&O Maritime – the co-concession holders at Limassol port along with G.A.P. Vassilopoulos – was achieved.

Deal close on Limassol to clear path for Total - CYPRUS MAIL

December 16, 2016

Elias Hazou

THE consortium granted the marine services concession at the port of Limassol is very close to an agreement with oil and gas services company EDT Offshore, the Cyprus Mail has learned.

The deal, which sources said was imminent, would clear the path for oil major Total to drill their first exploratory well in Block 11 of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone.

“An arrangement between EDT and G.A.P. Vassilopoulos and P&O Maritime is expected sometime over the next few days,” sources apprised of the matter said.

It would allow EDT to provide Total with onshore logistical support out of the port of Limassol for a period of two years, effective immediately until the end of 2018.

The sources declined to elaborate pending the deal being finalised.

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.