The energy renaissance could unlock new opportunities in our 25 year project to build a Europe whole, free and at peace, US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland has told the Atlantic Council.
Referring to Cyprus, Nuland said that there is wealth for all the residents of the island “if they can exploit the gas off shore together. But they will lose up that opportunity if they can’t work together,” she noted.
In her speech under the title “Toward a Transatlantic Renaissance: Ensuring Our Shared Future”, Nuland noted that “with the discovery of significant gas resources off Cyprus, Cypriot Foreign Minister Kasoulides has publicly predicted that gas could play as important a role in healing the island’s divisions as the coal and steel industry played in 1949 between France and Germany.”
Nuland underlined that the US is impressed by the commitment of the two Cypriot sides led by President Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Eroglu over recent months to work together for a truly bizonal, bicommunal federation on the island.
“We also appreciate the support of Turkey and Greece for a mutually acceptable settlement between the parties. Today, both the leadership and shared interest are in place for a comprehensive settlement; this moment must not be squandered,” she added, noting that “a settlement will have benefits far beyond the island. It will also have a profoundly positive effect across the Eastern Mediterranean and you know we need more good news in the Mediterranean and on NATO-EU relations.”
Responding to a question about the Cyprus problem, and the long-standing problems of Europe, Nuland said that “25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall we should not be satisfied with the democratic map of Europe.”
“We are not finished. Some of the fundamentals that caused these conflicts (in Europe) to get stuck have begun to change. The realities under them have begun to change and Cyprus is a prime example,” she noted.
She noted that there is wealth for all the residents of the island “if they can exploit the gas off shore together. But they will lose up that opportunity if they can’t work together,” she said.
Nuland said that “the situation in Greece and Turkey has changed. There has been an understanding that the resolution of this might actually bring more benefit for both the big neighbors. So that needs to be exploited and it needs to be supported by all of us that have seen this movie before but I truly believe the fundamentals are better this time. So we have not to miss the opportunity,” she concluded.
Cyprus, divided since the Turkish invasion of the island in 1974, is currently developing natural resources discovered within the Republic’s Exclusive Economic Zone, while several international companies are involved in hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation activities. Preliminary results of a Noble Energy appraisal well for natural gas in Block 12 of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone estimate the hydrocarbon reserve between 3.6tcf and 6tcf with a gross mean resource of 5tcf. Noble Energy operates Block 12 with a 70 percent working interest. Delek Drilling Limited Partnership and Avner Oil Exploration Limited Partnership each own 15 percent.
On June 26, 2013, Cyprus government, Delek and Avner signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with regard to the construction of a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in the Cyprus. ENI – KOGAS consortium who have signed a contract for hydrocarbons exploration in blocks 2, 3 and 9 within Cyprus’ EEZ are planning to drill in the third quarter of 2014, while Total, which has signed a contract for blocks 10 and 11, is also proceeding with drilling at the first quarter of 2015.
