Cypriot President: Russia Interested in Cyprus Gas Exploration

Russian energy firms, including Gazprom, may be interested in Cyprus's gas exploration activities, the Cypriot President and the vice-president of Russia's Chamber of Commerce and Industry have said at a Cypriot investment conference.

Speaking at the conference on Friday, President Demetris Christofias said that he expected that Russian energy firms would be interested in developing and exploring for gas on the Cypriot continental shelf.

The expectation found favour with the vice-president of Russia's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who was also present at the investment forum.

Speaking to reporters after the event, Georgiy Petrov said at least one Russia gas company was interested in exploration activity in Cyprus with a tender expected for the coming months.

"There will be a tender this spring," Russian newspaper RIA Novosti reports Mr. Petrov as saying. "We know that ... Gazprom is interested in participation in the tender. We would like to see the Russian companies with good experience in operations on the shelf at Cyprus."

Last month, Minister for Commerce Praxoula Antoniadou said that a second licensing round could be expected in the coming months. The licences will apply to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Mediterranean Sea, where massive gas finds have already been made. 

American company Noble Energy confirmed that it had made a substantial find in December of last year, with estimated reserves of  between 5 and 8 trillion cubic feet (TCF), with a gross mean of 7 TCF found in Block 12 in the Cypriot section of the Mediterranean Sea.