Speaking to the House Finance Committee during the examination of his Ministry’s budget, Lakkotrypis said that once he receives the reports he will present them to the Cabinet and a negotiation period with the bidders will follow before any final decisions are made.

The Minister added that the participation of certain consortia in the third licensing round, such as Exxon Mobil-Qatar, or ENI-Total, are indicative of the potential in the Cyprus EEZ.

A planned 2017 drilling in Block 11 was said by the Minister to be important, since it would be the first drilling in a geological area similar to the Zohr gas field in Egypt’s EEZ, giving high hopes for a similar bounty.

In response to a journalist’s question, Lakkotrypis said that there is no change in the date of Total’s planned drilling in 2017, and that the matter that had been raised with the Limassol port marine services is to be resolved so that no delays occur.

Source: InCyprus