Cyprus Energy Chief Urges Rapid Gas Development

A senior Cypriot energy official has urged the Mediterranean island-nation to move quickly on natural gas extraction.

Chairman of the newly established Cyprus National Hydrocarbons Company, Charles Ellinas, said his countrymust proceed rapidly with its plans for natural gas exploitation and export. Ellinas referred to the rapid development of shale gas production in the United States, and the willingness of countries such as China to launch major shale programmes. 

Ellinas, reported in Cyprus newspaper the Famagusta Gazette,  said these developments do not pose any danger to Cyprus’s aim to become an exporter of natural gas.

Europe remains "dormant" because of concerns about fracking, Ellinas said. He cited France, believed to be "sitting" on the largest shale gas reserve in Europe estimated at 180 trillion cubic feet. But France banned hydraulic fracturing in 2010. 

"What concerns me is the fact that in Cyprus we have a tendency to talk too much and to proceed slowly, as if we are on our own in the world. We are not. It is important that we should proceed with our own projects rapidly," he was quoted by the newspaper.

See also: Cyprus and Lebanon in Energy Talks