President Anastasiades is expected to announce a cabinet reshuffle and new appointments after junior coalition partner DIKO broke away and ordered its four ministers to quit. Lakkotrypis, whom polls show is the most popular cabinet minister, chose to resign from the party, but his re-appointment is subject to Anastasiades’ discretion. Speaking to the media, Lakkotrypis said that the terminal is central to this government’s strategy on natural gas.

Replying to a question as to how talks with Noble Energy are going ahead, he said they are at an advanced stage. “Immediately after the new Cabinet is appointed, it is expected that very important decisions will be taken”, he noted. Houston-based Noble, the first to explore for natural gas in the offshore Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone, has also shown interest to participate in an onshore LNG plant that would export the output from Cypriot gasfields, as well as any excess production from neighbouring Israeli and Lebanese fields.

Source: Financial Mirror