Cyprus will open tenders for the supply and storage of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet growing energy needs and wean itself off reliance on fuel oil for power generation, the government said yesterday.
“The cabinet has decided to declare a tender for the supply of natural gas, with (storage) offshore for a period of up to five years,” government spokesman Vassilis Palmas told reporters.
Authorities had also decided to speed up procedures for the establishment of onshore storage facilities, he said. The offshore method was an attempt to secure LNG on the market by 2009, the timeframe Cyprus has given to the European Union for the introduction of natural gas.
Officials say Cyprus could face a five to seven year delay to LNG introduction should it have gone straight for creating facilities on land, because of the time needed to create the infrastructure.
Palmas could not give a schedule for the tenders or the likely sources of LNG supply. The island’s energy minister last week told Reuters the tenders could be declared by the end of this year.
Power stations in Cyprus rely on heavy fuel oil, which emits large quantities of carbon dioxide, a gas blamed for climate change. It must start introducing cleaner forms of energy under EU obligations.
The decision is likely to rekindle a simmering row with the island’s electricity provider, the EAC, which has argued that offshore options are a waste of taxpayers’ money. The controversy had drawn threats of resignation from the EAC’s board, which is appointed by the government.
“We would want the participation of the EAC in the supply process,” Palmas said.
(Reuters, 06/06/2007)