Chevron and Cyprus Government Dispute Over Aphrodite Gas Field

Politis newspaper's headline and featured story, titled "Inevitable Disagreement Between Chevron and the Government Regarding Aphrodite," reported that a definitive disagreement has arisen between the Cypriot government and Chevron regarding the evaluation of the Aphrodite natural gas field, and an official announcement of this disagreement is expected soon.

The newspaper reminded that Chevron had proposed a few months ago to transport natural gas from the Aphrodite field to Egypt via a subsea pipeline without a Floating Production Unit (FPU), which the Cypriot government rejected. Politis emphasized that neither party has backed down from their positions.

The newspaper also pointed out that discussions between the parties are expected to continue until November 5. If an agreement cannot be reached, there may be a search for a new company to assess the field, resulting in a significant loss of time.

According to the report, Cypriot Energy Minister George Papanastasiou, in a press conference held on Saturday, emphasized the advantages of establishing an FPU for the Cypriot administration. He expressed concerns about the danger of sending natural gas directly to Egypt without an FPU, which would make the gas utilization dependent on Egypt. He also questioned why the gas would be transported to Egypt, which is 400 kilometers away, instead of using the facilities located just 100 kilometers away in the Leviathan field owned by the same company, stating that Chevron has not provided an answer to this question.

The newspaper suggested that Chevron's stance could be related to the Cyprus problem. As long as the Cyprus problem exists, the company may hesitate to take any steps and could present various proposals that will only result in a waste of time.

Source: TAK