The Ministry of Energy is holding intensive consultations with the licensed consortium, so that the production of natural gas from "Aphrodite" field can be launched in 2027, while ensuring the interests of the Republic of Cyprus, Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, Natasa Pilides said on Friday, while presenting the Ministry's budget before the House Finance Committee.

At the same time, she expressed hope that there would be some positive developments regarding the dispute over the "Yishai" gas field during a visit by the President of Cyprus to Israel on November 9. Pilides stated that all the parameters regarding "Yishai", which is adjacent to "Aphrodite" and which caused a dispute, have been agreed with Israel and hoped that there will be a response from the Israeli side very soon. She also said she hoped the neighboring country would not change its position, following elections there.  

Regarding "Aphrodite", she said that the plan concerns the interconnection of the infrastructure of Cyprus with the existing infrastructure and pipelines to ensure that the prices and the arrangements that will be made will be beneficial and that Cyprus could also benefit. Regarding the appraisal well in "Aphrodite" in 2023, Pilides stated that this will be at the same time a production well, with additional investment for this purpose.

Our position, she added, is that all the natural gas found in "Aphrodite" should be utilized in order to benefit the Republic of Cyprus. She also said that a very important chapter of the discussions that will follow is how the Republic of Cyprus will ensure low prices and for the arrangement for block "12" to include the supply of natural gas for Cyprus.

Pilides also said that the dialogue with the European Energy Commissioner is very important to examine whether there is room to speed up the energy program and the creation of common infrastructure by the companies so that Cyprus can supply the EU as well.

She noted that the construction of the infrastructure should be promoted as quickly as possible and that it is important to find the customers as well. She described 2027 as a realistic goal for production to start from "Aphrodite". The Minister noted that the opportunity to supply the EU exists for the next few years but surely this must be done by 2030 or the opportunity will be lost.

The evaluation of the data from the seismic surveys in blocks 5 and 10 by the ExxonMobil consortium is also pending, as well as the evaluation of the data from the new Eni-Total Energies drilling in block "6", Pilides said.

Regarding the creation of a natural gas station in Cyprus, Pilides said this would lead to an increase in the region's environmental footprint and would have implications for the European Emissions Trading System, leading to higher costs that deter the Republic from opting for this. She added that this does not mean that natural gas cannot be transported to Cyprus through a pipeline and be used in the power generation system. She also noted that the prevailing scenarios are for natural gas to be transported to Egypt and the floating LNG facility above the ENI/Total and Exxon Mobil fields.

With regard to the natural gas infrastructure in Cyprus, the Minister stated that the delivery schedule of the ship and the jetty according to the contractor is due in July 2023, however, there may be delays, so the completion of the project is expected around the end of 2023. She also noted that arrangements will be made so that non-liquefied natural gas can come either from the Cypriot fields, or from Energean and its fields in Israel, which intends to bring a pipeline to Cyprus so the natural gas to come to a much lower price, around 7 to 9 cents.

Pilides stated that the Ministry has to face an unprecedented crisis and to connect the goals of green development, price containment and energy sufficiency.

In this year's budget the total expenditure amounts to €151.3 million and is increased by €29.9 million or by 20% compared to 2022, mainly due to the need to create grant schemes and incentives for green development and to retain the prices, but to keep businesses competitive. The development costs, she said, amount to €103.6 million and are increased by 40.5%. These mainly concern export promotion, industry and business, digitalisation, hydrocarbons, gas infrastructure and electricity interconnection.

The Minister added that RES penetration in power generation has increased to 14.9% in 2021 compared to 12.6% in 2020, while there are 180 commercial RES to be implemented. It can, as she said, reach 50% within the next 5-7 years by promoting storage and electrical interconnection projects.

She also noted that in 2021 exports increased by 14%, while recently the "Cyprus Made" campaign for Cypriot products was promoted an action plan to promote PDO halloumi and Cypriot wines.

Regarding fuel prices she said that there is a new software to monitor prices. The Minister pointed out that Cyprus is among the 5-7 countries with the lowest gasoline prices, however, diesel prices are noticeably higher.