Cyprus government announced that it struck a preliminary agreement with Noble, Shell and Delek for the allocation of revenues from the utilisation of the Aphrodite deposit and the transfer of natural gas by underwater pipeline to the Idku LNG terminal in Egypt.
An interview made with the Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotropis revealed that the renegotiated deal with these three companies is predicted to bring in $520 million per year as state revenue, a total of approximately $9.4 billion for the agreed 18-year contract duration.
Despite that the new deal will yield $ 850 million less than the current deal, the Minister said that compared to the existing contract, it will enable the energy plans of the Republic to be materialised.
Mr Lakkotrypis also said that the new agreement provides for “specific and very strict clauses” to ensure the realisation of investments in the Cyprus exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
He said the deal would soon be approved by the Council of Ministers and that it would be possible to utilise natural gas by 2024 or 2025.
The Energy Minister also said that details on an agreement with the Eni – Total will soon be announced.
