Bloomberg: Cyprus Can Be Reunified Before Natural Gas Exports to EU, Minister Says

Cyprus, the divided Mediterranean island that announced its first offshore gas find last week, said revenues will benefit Greek and Turkish Cypriots because reunification will be achieved before the fuel is shipped.

“Revenues are not envisaged to start accruing before a number of years pass because we need a number of years to develop the necessary infrastructure,” Praxoula Antoniadou, minister for commerce, industry and tourism, said in an interview in Nicosia. “Our vision is that the Cyprus problem will be solved much sooner, within months.”

Cyprus’s Greek and Turkish-speaking communities have been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded the north of the island. Exploration drilling last year by the U.S.’s Noble Energy Inc. prompted Turkey, which doesn’t recognize the Greek Cypriot government, to send warships to the area. It has urged Cyprus to freeze oil exploration until a settlement is reached so that the Turkish Cypriot community can benefit from revenues.

Noble’s gas field, containing as much as 8 trillion cubic feet of fuel, “enhances the probability” that other sites off Cyprus may also hold hydrocarbons, Antoniadou said Jan. 4. The government announced a second oil and gas licensing round on Nov. 23, covering 12 of 13 blocks, and will invite expressions of interest “in about a month’s time,” the minister said.   MORE