George Papanastasiou

Cyprus' minister of energy, George Papanastasiou, has affirmed Nicosia's commitment to proceed with its plans for transporting natural gas from the region, both for domestic electricity generation and for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, despite geopolitical reactions.

The Cypriot government says it does not share views on East Med gas made by Eni boss Claudio Descalzi, who told Italian lawmakers an Eastern Mediterranean gas project cannot go forward without Turkey, with Nicosia begging to differ and pointing to other firms willing to take the risk.

Cyprus and Israel are in talks over the construction of a pipeline linking their offshore gas fields, Cyprus's energy minister said on Monday.

But George Papanastasiou appeared to play down prospects for an "EastMed" pipeline taking eastern Mediterranean gas to continental Europe, saying a shipping corridor could be set up instead from a hub in Cyprus to transport liquefied gas.

Chevron has reportedly started drilling a key appraisal well offshore Cyprus, a development mired in geopolitical controversy over the ethnically split island as well as neighbor relations.

According to Upstream, Chevron has started drilling a key appraisal well on its 4.5-trillion-cubic foot Aphrodite gas discovery, aimed at boosting certainty over a planned $3.6 billion project.

Cyprus' Energy Minister George Papanastasiou stated on Thursday that, during his discussions with consortiums operating in the Cypriot exclusive economic zone (EEZ), he suggested the option of importing natural gas quantities from the EEZ for power generation, in combination with LNG exports via a small LNG plant.

Cyprus' new Energy Minister George Papanastasiou stated on Tuesday that the government's goal is to reduce the price of electricity for Cypriot citizens.

"We want consumers to be able to open their electricity bills without fear," said the newly appointed minister, speaking after the first meeting of the House's Commerce Committee since taking office. 

After 11 years of construction work plagued by bureaucratic, financial and legal obstacles, Athens?s nearly-completed National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST), at the former Fix brewery on Syngrou Avenue, opened its doors to the media for the first time on International Museum Day, Saturday.

The Cyprus storage terminal of Vitol Tank Terminal Int (VTTI) will receive its first product shipment in mid-November, the company said on Tuesday, enabling it to target key Mediterranean markets such as Turkey with oil products from massive new refineries from outside the region.