Tense Deliberations Continue as Chevron Seeks More Time, Cyprus Weighs Options
A Balance Between Additional Time and Timely Resolutions Is Being Sought by the Republic
Cyprus is contemplating granting a further extension to Chevron for negotiations, intent on exploring every last opportunity until the final moment.
Sources indicate that Chevron is seeking a four-month extension to the negotiation period for revising the development and production plan for the "Aphrodite" offshore gas field. Concurrently, the company is also pursuing a four-month extension for commencing the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) study, with both requests intended to run simultaneously.
Conversely, the Republic of Cyprus is open to an extension, albeit potentially for a briefer duration.
Following a meeting between the stakeholders on Friday, no formal announcements were issued. According to sources, the Energy, Trade and Industry Minister, George Papanastasiou, conducted an additional informal discussion that evening with company representatives.
The consortium, comprising Chevron, Shell Plc, and Israel's Newmed Energy LP, had presented an updated proposal for the "Aphrodite" field's development, suggesting a link to Egyptian liquefaction infrastructure via an undersea pipeline. This plan was declined by the Cypriot authorities in late August. The initial contract allowed a 30-day negotiation period to settle the disagreement, which was subsequently extended by another 30 days until November 5th.
In a conversation with Cyprus News Agency, Minister Papanastasiou stated, "We will issue a written response to a letter we received from the company with a specific timeframe for their reply." He emphasized that until Chevron's response is received, "we believe it is not appropriate to comment."
The government is awaiting Chevron's reply before issuing any public comments, Cyprus’ President, Nikos Christodoulides, conveyed on Sunday. Responding to a journalist at an inauguration in the village of Korakou, President Christodoulides stated that Cyprus would reply to Chevron and await their response before adopting a public stance.
"We will respond in writing, await the company’s reply, and thereafter, communicate openly," he said, stressing the inappropriateness of public declarations at this time, particularly regarding this matter.
