Cyprus
Tuesday confirmed that
Israel
's
Delek Group (DLEKG.TV) had submitted a proposal to build a liquefied natural
gas facility on the Mediterranean island and that
Nicosia
didn't rule out co-operation with the Jewish state.
"There is a letter addressed to the president of the republic from Delek
which declares an interest and presents a proposal of co-operation on this
issue [natural gas]," Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides told
reporters.
"Any decision to be taken will be made in such a way that it takes into
account developments happening around us and, of course, our own
reserves," he added.
According to reports, Delek has proposed the creation of a LNG facility on the
island to process deposits Israel has discovered offshore and which Cyprus
hopes to uncover.
Local daily newspaper Phileleftheros Tuesday made public the letter in which
Delek suggests establishing a multi-purpose terminal that would process gas
into LNG at a location of the government's choosing.
Delek says such a deal would turn Cyprus from being totally reliant on gas and
oil imports into a net exporter.
"We are confident that this project will enable Cyprus to meet domestic
energy needs in a clean and cheap source and convert Cyprus, an importer of
energy, into a regional hub for exporting gas."
Last month
Cyprus
and
Israel
signed an agreement defining their sea border that allows the neighbors
to forge ahead in the search for energy sources in the eastern
Mediterranean
.
Cyprus
has signed delineation agreements with
Egypt
and
Lebanon
, which have agreed to mutually exploit hydrocarbon deposits that
criss-cross their boundaries.
The Israeli company is a partner of
U.S.
energy firm Noble Energy Inc (NBL), which has reported large reserves of
natural gas in two Israeli offshore fields.
Delek and its Texan partner announced last month the discovery of 453 billion
cubic meters of natural gas in the Leviathan gas field some 60 kilometers from
Cyprus's exclusive economic zone.
It is touted to be one of the largest finds over the past decade.
Noble also has the rights to drill for hydrocarbons within Cyprus's exclusive
economic zone close to the Israeli blocks.
In a separate move, Cyprus's state electricity authority is seeking a strategic
partner to build a EUR600-million LNG regasification terminal on the island's
southern coast.
The government has yet to decide on the issue but Paschalides said earlier this
month that Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RSDA) had made the best offer at EUR4.5
billion to supply Cyprus with natural gas over a 20-year period.
A second licensing round for offshore oil and gas exploration is scheduled for
the latter half of this year after the process was first launched in 2007.
Turkey has voiced its disapproval of Cyprus's oil and gas search and reacted
negatively to Israel, Egypt and Lebanon getting involved.