Cyprus has opened a second hydrocarbons licensing round,
buoyed by natural gas discoveries off its own shores and rich finds in waters
off neighbouring Israel.
The island is offering 12 offshore blocks for potential exploration and
exploitation of oil and gas. The ethnically-split island has focussed on
exploration to its south, in areas controlled by the internationally-recognised
government.
Turkey, which disputes Cyprus's exploration rights, says it too will explore
for oil and gas, including an onshore drill in north Cyprus slated to start at
the end of February.
Cyprus reported its first natural gas discovery in December, when U.S. based
Noble Energy said it had discovered an estimated 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet in
a block south of the island. The block lies close to where neighbouring Israel
has reported significant discoveries in the past two years.
Future cooperation on tapping energy reserves is an issue likely to be high on
the agenda of talks Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have during
a visit to the island this month.
A Cypriot government announcement launching the second round was published in
the official journal of the EU on Feb. 11, and was published on the Commerce
Ministry's website on Monday.
Applications could be submitted within 90 days of the date of the notice, the
announcement said.
A decision on the applications was expected to be made by the Cypriot cabinet
within six months from the date of their submission, the notice said.
Cyprus, which is now heavily reliant on fuel imports to fire its power grids,
launched its first hydrocarbons round in 2007, granting an exploration license
to Noble a year later.