Greek Reporter: Cyprus’ Natural Gas Pockets an Alternative to Russian Supply

Cypriot officials have stated that the success in drilling for gas pockets in deep waters off the island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean will eventually pave the way for loosening Russia’s grip on the European market’s energy supply.

The region of Cyprus is already proven to sit on reserves of as much as 6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, while also looking to find another 4 trillion to 5 trillion cubic feet, Cypriot Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis said in an interview May 14.

A potential discovery of this size — about a quarter the size of Israel’s giant Leviathan find — would allow Cyprus to proceed with plans for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, which would be also able to process gas from elsewhere in the basin and ship it by sea to Ukrainian-crisis threatened markets in western Europe.

Russia, which provides about 15 percent of the region’s needs through Soviet-era pipelines, has threatened to cut supplies from June.
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