British multinational oil and gas company BG Group announced it has taken a 35% holding in Block 12 offshore Cyprus which includes the Aphrodite gas discovery.
The Group said this development provides a potential source of gas to Egypt where BG holds equity in the two train LNG export facility at Idku
BG Group is a world leader in natural gas, with a broad portfolio of business interests focused on exploration and production and liquefied natural gas. It is active in more than 20 countries on five continents.
The Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism said it has received a request from Noble Energy International Ltdfor a farm-out agreement with BG for a portion of itsinterest in Block 12 offshore Cyprus.
Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis praised the interest shown by the BG Group, calling it a "vote of confidence” towards Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone.
"Noble Energy will maintain operatorship of Block 12 with a 35% interest, while Delek Drilling Limited Partnership and Avner Oil Exploration Limited Partnership hold 15% each,” the Minister said.
"The agreement, which is subject to approval by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cyprus, is an important step towards "Aphrodite’s” development,” it added.
Moreover, it constitutes an alignment of upstream and midstream interests, as BG International, a company with substantialtechnical, financial and marketing capacity is part of the BG Group that holds equity in the LNG export facility at Idku, in Egypt.
Lakkotrypis also added this "commercial agreement between companies” is very important for the Cyprus Republic because commercial interests from Aphrodite are lined up with transporting natural gas to Egypt.
(in-cyprus.com, 23/11/2015)
