The completion of the works for the natural gas regasification terminal in Vasilikos is the first major problem for ETYFA and the Ministry of Energy.
The second big problem is the management of the ship Prometheus, so that as soon as possible it can be tested and used as a floating unit for the storage and regasification of liquefied natural gas and if possible it can be rented somewhere for free, until it can sail and be used in Cyprus.
Achieving the goal sounds simple, but it's not. The information that exists from the government side states that the European Commission still does not accept the lease of Prometheus for its speculative operation in a foreign natural gas terminal. Because, according to the EU, European sponsorship was given for the conversion of the ship into a floating regasification unit and to serve the needs for the electricity supply of Cyprus and not for the ship to be rented for the benefit of another country.
However, the Cypriot side seems to continue the effort to obtain the consent of the Commission, so that Prometheus does not remain unused for about two years, at a significant cost to the Republic of Cyprus in order to remain in good and operational condition, without even regasifying LNG.
Cyprus' arguments include the position that the EU approved a sponsorship of €101 million for the overall project, but due to a flawed award process for the project to CPP in 2018-19 it demanded and was returned (by offsetting other European funds) €68 million. euros, out of about 71 he had paid in Cyprus. Therefore, the position of the Cypriot side is that, since the project was carried out with funds secured by the country from own funds (e.g. EAC) or from borrowing (from the European Development Bank - EIB and EBRD - European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), without substantial use of European sponsorship, it should be allowed to find an LNG terminal in which the FSRU Supply can be certified and used for rent.
For the time being, efforts in this direction continue without positive results. However, the assurances given by the government state that the additional conversions that had to be made to Prometheus have been successfully completed and the ship remains safely docked at Kuala Linggi Base (photo), in Malaysia, under the management of the Norwegian company Wilhelmsen.
