Energy Minister George Papanastasiou has said that both the government of Cyprus and Chevron are optimistic that they will come up with a mutually acceptable plan for the offshore gas field 'Aphrodite' in Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone. He noted that we should see natural gas  coming to the surface at around 2027 to 2028.

The Republic of Cyprus, he noted, intends to further listen to what the consortium has to say, which is essentially represented by Chevron as the managing company of the gas field.

"We, the Republic of Cyprus, have already conveyed what we would like to see from the exploitation and development of this particular gas field, so the two parties are aware of the facts right now and they can proceed with proper planning for the development of the field," he continued.

Asked for how long there will be an exchange of letters in order to reach convergences, the Minister said that the contract provides for some exchange of letters. But what is being written is not an ultimatum. "As you know, technical committees attend consultations, exchange opinions, find common ground and move forward", he said.

Asked if there is a timeframe, he said the there is and it is the one stated in the 2019 plan which remains unchanged.

Invited to say if there is optimism that there will be an agreement, he said that "we are very optimistic, both parties, that we will eventually come up with something that will be a mutually acceptable plan".

The next major milestone, he said, is the final investment decision of the consortium and depending on that we should see natural gas coming to the surface at around 2027 to 2028.

The Minister was also asked about the meeting that President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides held on Friday with ENI in Italy. He replied that he will be informed about the outcome of the meeting and noted that the company, following his meetings with CEO Claudio Descalzi proceeds with "Kronos 2" where there will be a confirmatory drilling in the southwest cluster of the findings within the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone.

We believe, he added, that what is in the area  is enough to justify either an initial direction to Egypt for liquefaction purposes or to construct infrastructure to Cyprus for liquefaction purposes and use for electricity generation in Cyprus.

"So we will wait for the findings of 'Kronos 2', we will wait for the actions suggested to us by the companies that are in that cluster of deposits and we will act accordingly," said the Minister.

Meanwhile, asked if there is a plan to reduce energy costs for households, he recalled that the government is promoting autonomous households with photovoltaics in every house, and said that the fact that this puts some burden on the grid will be solved through the new plans that will be introduced concerning the use of batteries.