Filenews 2 May 2024 - by Chrysanthos Manoli
Reports in Israel refer to information they have from the Israeli company New Med Energy about a new negative response received from the Cypriot government by the consortium that manages the Aphrodite deposit, regarding its revised proposal for the development of the deposit.
Chevron's new "optimized" proposal was sent to Energy Minister George Papanastasiou on March 28, 2024 and was evaluated by the technocrats of the Hydrocarbons Agency, the Ministry of Energy, but also by state consultants, mainly by the French firm Beicip Franlab.
On April 30, Mr. Papanastasiou responded with a letter to Chevron, rejecting the new proposal of the joint venture of Chevron, BG Cyprus and New Med Energy.
The unofficial information of "Phileleftheros" reports that the consortium management of the field accepted to satisfy the provision that existed in the initial plan of 2019 for the pumping of the natural gas reserve through the use of a floating production platform (FPU). Something he had initially denied. However, in its new updated proposal, sent on March 28, Chevron appears to have made no commitments to specific actions, within set timelines, towards developing the deposit within the timeframes set by the 2019 agreement.
The Cypriot Government considered that even the new proposal of the consortium does not offer sufficient collateral for the commercial exploitation of Aphrodite (approximately 4.2 trillion cubic feet) within the desired time frames, which is why in his letter of April 30, 2024 Mr. Papanastasiou rejected this proposal as well.
The energy minister's letter reportedly does not finalize the impasse in the negotiations between the two sides. The Venus consortium (in Israel they talk about six months) is given a new window of a few months to commit to concrete actions that will pull the Venus development plan out of the multi-year quagmire in which it is located. Upon expiry of the deadline, the cooperation framework of the Cypriot Government with the consortium will be reassessed.
According to information published in Israel, through his letter, the Minister of Energy asks the consortium to commit in writing, within 6 months of receiving the letter, that it accepts and will abide by the terms of the initial agreement of 2019, in particular with regard to the commencement of the detailed technical study of FEED.
