Troika Checks on Hydrocarbon Prospects

Representatives of the Troika (ECB, European Commission and IMF) had a meeting with director of the Energy Service Solonos Kassinis and asked about the prospects for hydrocarbons, said Kassinis.

The discovery of a large reserve of offshore natural gas was seen as very positive by the Troika, said Kassinis. The negotiators, who are in the process of meeting with political and technocratic officials, did not urge that Cyprus extract the natural gas as soon as possible, but only asked about the prospects and what would be done with the National Hydrocarbon Fund. Kassinis told them that the government is considering the matters seriously.

Revenue estimates from natural gas depend on where the gas will be sold and in what form, said Kassinis. The first revenues from natural gas will come 'very soon', he said.

"We estimate that by the end of 2017, we will have the gas for electricity production in Cyprus," said Kassinis.

The 2017 timeline is the estimate for natural gas from Cyprus' own offshore field - Block 12 - and Kassinis estimates that it is possible for the island to be supplied from Israel's natural gas resources by the end of 2016.

Cyprus and Israel have neighboring natural gas plots and have signed a maritime border agreement defining each country's Exclusive Economic Zones.

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