The goal shouldn’t be its management to serve communication tricks, but planning for the development of the reserves in a way that will be beneficial to the Cypriot people

AKEL on the natural gas find in “Glafkos” field

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 28 Feb 2019, Nicosia

The discovery of a new exploitable amount of natural gas in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a positive and hopeful development.

Of course, the reserve itself does not correspond to the very high expectations which certain forces and circles had cultivated through calculated press reports, but it is positive that the reserve is exploitable and creates prospects for a further development of the research program in the Cyprus EEZ.

As AKEL, we don’t consider the discovery of the reserve as an opportunity for celebrations and fiestas, nor as an opportunity for big talk and pompous declarations.  AKEL believes that the discovery of this second exploitable reserve represents a great challenge which puts responsibilities on everyone and primarily on the government so that we can make the best possible use of the reserves.

Consequently, the goal shouldn’t be its management to serve communication tricks, but planning for the development of the reserves in a way that will be beneficial to the Cypriot people. At the same time, we must bear in mind that our steadfast and consistent pursuit of a solution of the Cyprus problem is the surest and most effective way to make use of our natural wealth, given that a corresponding stand will enhance and politically shield our actions towards this end.

With the discovery of some reserve we won’t automatically be converted into an energy superpower. There is a long way to go from the discovery of the reserve to its commercial exploitation and a lot of work must be done. In this context, we call on the government to focus on and at long last elaborate a comprehensive energy strategy, which it should implement with consistency and determination.

We hope that we will have drawn lessons from the example of the “Aphrodite” deposit, which 8 years since its discovery has still not been made use of and that this will have made us more serious and responsible in the handling of this top national challenge.