Government more interested in communication games than in the implementation of a comprehensive energy policy
Statement of Georgos Loucaides, AKEL C.C. Spokesperson
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 3rd March 2016, Nicosia
Despite the fact that in the last three years there hasn’t been any substantive positive development in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Republic of Cyprus, companies have not identified any new deposits and are continuously requesting extensions to timetables that had been agreed and even though the plan to develop the “Aphrodite” reserve should have been agreed two years ago and nothing has yet been done, the government is celebrating because there is new geological information after the discovery of the Zohr deposit in the Egyptian EEZ.
We do not overlook the fact that the discovery of the Zohr deposit creates the prospect of new targets to be identified, which if exploratory drillings are carried out may lead to new fields.
From the positive geological perspective, however, to locating the deposit, presupposes a series of procedures and drillings which are costly, both in terms of time and money. Besides the geological, other given facts, such as economic, political, geopolitical and others, intrude and are calculated.
The government however is celebrating in a way that gives the impression that the new geological information has led to the identification of new deposits.
This demonstrates that it continues to handle the issues with improvisations, carelessness and without any energy plan.
Even the announcement of the third licensing round has been done as a hasty amateur pre-election announcement, without giving an answer as to how it will be done, on the basis of what timetable and on what plot.
The government is continually demonstrating that the only thing that it is interested in is to exploit energy issues for communication purposes, instead of planning and pursuing a comprehensive energy policy which will lead to the exploitation of hydrocarbons located in the Cypriot EEZ.
