ENI is positive as regards the construction of a pipeline between Cyprus and Israel, Energy, Commerce and Industry Minister, George Papanastasiou, said on Tuesday, following a meeting at the Presidential Palace with the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, and ENI CEO, Claudio Descalzi. He added that a development plan for the fields in Block 6 of the Cypriot EEZ is expected soon.

In his statements after the meeting, Papanastasiou said that there was a very productive discussion with Descalzi and the ENI team, adding that they discussed how quickly the fields in Block 6 and the surrounding area can be developed.

The Minister added that in the coming weeks there will be an additional discussion between the Government and ENI to come up with a plan to develop the fields in the area, while at the same time looking at how gas can be brought to Cyprus for power generation purposes.

He also said that the issue of the construction of a pipeline between Cyprus and Israel was also discussed, noting in this regard that ENI is positive about it, provided that there are those quantities that would justify the development of infrastructure in Cyprus for LNG export purposes.

He added that apart from phase 1 which is the fast-track development, there is also phase 2 with the slower development, which he said is of more interest to Cyprus as it involves the creation of infrastructure.

"There will be a proposal from ENI after talking to its partners in TOTAL and there will be a discussion in the near future, which we will take to the next level to see how fast we can have gas in Cyprus for power generation purposes," the Minister concluded.

On his part, Claudio Descalzi said that he had a very positive meeting with President Christodoulides and the Minister of Energy, during which they discussed about the discoveries, what has been done and what needs to be done in the near future since the company has to drill an additional well in Block 6 of the Cypriot EEZ by the end of the year, as well as a possible scheme of development.

Asked whether ENI supports the recent proposal of the Cypriot government for a pipeline from Israel to Cyprus, Descalzi said that ENI always supports the government as they are cooperating, adding that everything must have an economic value and that this issue is part of the discussion.