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Cyprus and Israel are engaged on a deal to construct a pipeline that may convey pure gasoline from each nations to the east Mediterranean island nation, the place it will likely be liquefied for export by ship to Europe and doubtlessly elsewhere, the Cypriot vitality minister mentioned Monday.
Minister Giorgos Papanastasiou mentioned Monday he would quickly go to Israel to hammer out a proper settlement. As soon as the deal is signed, the pipeline could possibly be accomplished in 18 months.
It would take 2 ½ years to construct a liquefaction plant on Cyprus as soon as traders are secured.
To this point, 5 sizeable gasoline deposits have been found off Cyprus’ southern shoreline. Israel has 11 such fields: the most important, named Leviathan, incorporates an estimated 22 trillion cubic toes of gasoline.
Papanastasiou mentioned he would meet later this month with vitality corporations licensed to probe for oil and gasoline inside Cyprus’ unique financial zone – embody French Complete, Italy’s Eni, ExxonMobil and Chevron – to scope out methods of collaborating on initiatives that may expedite getting their gasoline discoveries to market.
The minister mentioned Israel agreed to the proposal pitched by the Cypriot authorities for the pipeline and liquefaction plant, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disclosed on Sunday.
Folks on the seaside take pictures of a drilling ship in Larnaca, Cyprus, on Nov. 3, 2021. (AP Picture/Petros Karadjias, File)
“The jap Mediterranean has sufficient (gasoline) deposits. Most are inside Israel’s unique financial zone, however Cyprus has adequate portions as properly for this venture to materialize,” Papanastasiou advised reporters.
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The minister defined that this venture was a truncated model of the EastMed pipeline concept. That proposal – for a 1,300-mile, $6 billion pipeline designed to convey regional gasoline on to Europe – has in recent times fallen out of favor.
As a substitute of a direct pipeline connection to Europe, processed gasoline from Cyprus might attain worldwide markets by ship.
“When you’ve got liquefied pure gasoline, it may well go in any course … Europe now needs it more, however markets can be present in Asia,” mentioned Papanastasiou.
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In December, the earlier Cypriot authorities mentioned it was weighing a proposal for the same plan as Russia’s warfare in Ukraine compounded an vitality disaster, the AP reported.
Papanastasiou mentioned Cypriot and Israeli authorities would want just a few extra months to barter a separate settlement on how a lot gasoline from the Cypriot Aphrodite gasoline subject fell inside neighboring Israeli waters.
A proposal for a pipeline to convey Cypriot and Egyptian gasoline to liquefaction plans in Egypt for export stays separate from the Israeli-Cypriot plan, the minister mentioned.
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